SLEDGES were taken to Broadway Tower as families took advantage of more snowfall in the Cotswolds.

Up to 7cm of snow was recorded to have fallen over the Cotswolds overnight, while other areas across the UK also saw flurries.

An HGV jack-knifed in heavy snow on the M5 in Gloucestershire and police issued warnings about dangerous driving conditions.

Western Power Distribution said more than 13,000 homes remained without power, the majority of those affected being in the West Midlands area, although properties in the East Midlands, the South West of England and Wales were also caught up in the outage.

The weather also delayed waste and recycling collections in the Cotswolds.

The band of rain and snow was expected to clear around 7pm yesterday.

The latest snowfall to hit the UK comes around a fortnight after hundreds of schools were closed, homes were left without power, and travellers were stranded or forced to stay indoors when a deep freeze gripped the UK.

Met Office meteorologist Simon Partridge said: "We have had some quickly changing weather overnight with a band of heavy rain and hill snow that started in the south west and is gradually moving north and eastwards.

"That's crossed Wales and is just lying over central southern England and it has brought some snow with it."