White Christmas on the cards as Britain's big chill looks set to continue

Britain's big freeze has seen icy nights of -5C and weather forecasters are refusing to rule out snow on the 25th – with London standing a 20 per cent chance of looking Christmas card perfect on the big day.

Scroll down for more...

Webbed feet make the perfect skates for these geese on a frozen lake near Castleford

Manchester has the same odds while there is a 30 per cent chance of snow in Edinburgh.

Netweather.tv forecaster Paul Michaelwaite said: "Even with just a couple of weeks to go until Christmas, it's still very hard to give a specific forecast.

Scroll down for more...

"We have been expecting cold air to be close by to the UK during the Christmas period since November though, and that's not changed.

Scroll down for more...

Frosted grass on an icy morning in Richmond Park, London

"Whether the cold will be over the UK and whether or not that will provide snowfall is of course the big question."

As heavy overnight frosts settle across the country, travel is also becoming a consideration.

Aside from the sentimental reasons that weather plays such a big role during Christmas, severe weather can cause major delays in getting where we want to go.

Scroll down for more...

Mr Michaelwaite added: "We've all seen that it really doesn't take very much snow at all to grind our transport system to a halt, particularly across southern England.

"Even if snow isn't on the agenda as we move closer to Christmas, we would advise people to pay attention to the latest weather forecast, as with the UK likely to be close to the dividing line between mild and cold air, very active and even severe weather is always a possibility."

Scroll down for more...

Icy weather conditions caused lorry to hit a tree in Chingford, east London

Christmas Travel Chaos

RAIL

Network Rail warned of 'major disruption' over Christmas.

• On the West Coast line, engineering work at Rugby and Nuneaton and in the Trent Valley around Stoke means passengers will have to switch to buses or alternative train companies - affecting travellers between London, Birmingham, Manchester, and Glasgow.

• On the East Coast Main line, engineering work at Knebworth between December 22 and 27 means passengers having to switch to buses between Hitchin and Peterborough. This will affect passengers travelling between London and major cities such as York, Newcastle, and Edinburgh.

• Liverpool Street Station, used by rail company ONE, will be shut completely for work between December 23 and January 2 - with passengers having to make their way to London's Stratford or Tottenham Hale stations.

• Glasgow Central station will have no services between December 26 and January 2.

• Disruption in Edinburgh between December 27 and 31 because of work in the Mound Tunnels between Waverley and Haymarket stations.

• Virgin Trains said there would be no trains on Christmas Day and Boxing Day. And on December 27, 28, 29 and 30 December there will be no direct services to or from London Euston. Alternative services will be provided either by other train companies or replacement coaches.

• Closure of the Trent Valley route for engineering work - from Saturday 22 to Christmas Eve (Mon 24) inclusive - will reduce services to five trains each hour in each direction, all running via Birmingham New Street and the West Midlands. Services on Christmas Eve 'will finish earlier than normal' with all trains ceasing to run by 23:00.

• National Express East Coast - no services to or from London Kings Cross from 19:00 on Saturday 22 December until close of service on Monday 24 December.

• Passengers are advised to check travel details in advance at: nationalrail.co.uk or by phoning National Rail Enquiries (NRES) on 08457 48 49 50.

AIR

• Strike threat by security, admin and fire-fighter staff at seven of Britain's main airports run by operator BAA - Heathrow, Gatwick, Stansted, Southampton, Glasgow, Edinburgh and Aberdeen - from as early as December 27.

• Strike threat by 3,200 Virgin Atlanic cabin crew from as early as December 27.