Bookmakers have slashed the odds for a white Christmas in London.

Paddy Power has cut odds on the chances of a White Christmas across Britain.

Odds in London are now sitting at 4-1, down from 11-2 yesterday.

A Paddy Power spokesman said: "The odds for snow on Christmas day have shortened in a few different areas due to the recent cold snap.

"The good news is that might mean you’re trapped in your house on the 25th, the bad news is it might mean you’re trapped with some pesky in-laws, too.

"It might make you wish for a one-household Christmas after all."

The shortest odds are in Scotland, with odds of 3/1 in Glasgow, Aberdeen, Edinburgh and Dundee. 

There are odds of 4/1 in London and Dublin and 5/1 in Leeds, Liverpool and Birmingham.

The Met Office has warned of below-average temperatures in December and a higher chance of winter cold spells than recent years.

What is a 'white' Christmas?

The Met Office defines the term as at least one snowflake falling in a specific location during the 24 hours of December 25. 

The Met Office also analyses the data from its observing stations across the UK to provide a better understanding of where snow has fallen on Christmas day.

Snow doesn't need to settle on the ground to be a white Christmas either.

Not quite the white Christmas we all dream of but, according to the Met Office, there have only been four occasions in the UK in the last 51 years where more than 40 per cent of stations in the UK reported snow on the ground at 9am.

When was the last white Christmas?

The last widespread white Christmas in the UK was in 2010.

It was extremely unusual, as not only was there snow on the ground at 83 per cent of stations (the highest amount ever recorded) but snow or sleet also fell at 19 per cent of stations.

We also had a white Christmas in 2009, when 13 per cent of stations recorded snow or sleet falling, and 57 per cent reported snow lying on the ground.

Technically, 2017 was the last white Christmas in the UK, with 11 per cent of weather stations recording snow falling. However, none reported any snow lying on the ground.

This was also the case in 2016, when 6 per cent of stations recorded falling snow, and in 2015, when 10 per cent of stations saw snow. 

Most recently, 2018 was not a white Christmas, with no record of falling snow at any station in the UK.