There is travel disruption on the roads and rail this morning after snowfall and sub-zero temperatures in many areas of the UK overnight.

Snow, ice and freezing fog alerts are in place in northern Scotland, Northern Ireland, northeast England, the Midlands, London and much of the South.

It was also the coldest night of the year, with -15.7C (3.74F) recorded in Braemar in Aberdeenshire.

Weather latest -Travel chaos hits roads, rail, and airports after snowfall

National Highways is warning of “hazardous conditions” in the South East and east of England.

There are “severe delays” on the M25, which is closed between junction 23 and 25 in Hertfordshire due to “heavy snowfall”, and some drivers reported being stuck for several hours.

Other routes affected in the region include the M11, M2, A21, A27 and A249. Sussex Police issued a warning for “treacherous” roads.

Gatwick and Stansted were forced to temporarily close their runways to clear snow on Sunday evening, and passengers are being advised to check their flight before leaving for the airport.

At least 37 flights have been cancelled at Gatwick so far today.

‘Do not travel’

On the trains, many operators warned services would be badly affected on Monday.

Southeastern tweeted that people should not travel, with some routes suspended until later and others disrupted.

Thameslink said materials needed for weekend engineering work had frozen, meaning it would take longer to complete and affect some services.

Greater Anglia said passengers should not travel until after 8am if possible, as did c2c, saying that safety checks needed to be carried out.

Great Northern said services were subject “to late notice delay or cancellation”.

National Rail warned disruption to the southeast network was likely to continue after severe delays on Sunday night.

“To allow Network Rail to check that the rails are clear of snow and ice, which can prevent trains from drawing power from the electric rail, the first trains in each direction on all routes will be cancelled,” it said.

News UK, publisher of The Sun and The Times, said the weather had affected its printers in Broxbourne, Hertfordshire, meaning possible delivery delays in many parts of the country.

Check the forecast in your area

Met Office meteorologist Rachel Ayers said that although cold temperatures, freezing fog and wintry showers are expected to last through the week, cloud cover could prevent a return of some of the more extreme temperatures experienced in recent days.

There is a possibility of slightly milder conditions arriving next weekend but it is too early to be certain, she said.