Two die in blizzards

Snow closed many roads in Scotland and the north of England

Motorists are facing treacherous driving conditions across Scotland and northern England after a night of heavy snowfall and flooding.

Police urged drivers to take extra care after a man died when a car collided with a snow plough on a snow-covered road in County Durham.

Rear seat passenger Ian Close, 39, from the Darlington area, died "almost instantly" when the car collided with the Darlington Borough Council snow plough on the A68 near Heighington, say police.

Two other people were injured in the accident.

Many roads are impassable

At South Gare, in Co Durham, a teenage boy died when he was swept into the North Sea as he walked along the coastline.

He was in a group with three other youths, all from Middlesbrough, who were washed into the water by the pier entrance to the River Tees on Sunday afternoon.

Further south, mountain rescue teams called off a search for a husband and wife who had gone missing after setting off for a walk in north Yorkshire on Sunday afternoon.

The couple, from Bingley, West Yorkshire, had stayed overnight with friends in a village close-by.

A spokesman from North Yorkshire police said: "They arrived back at their car and were most surprised to learn that a search had been launched for them."

Drifting snow forced the closure of many minor roads in the north of the country and made a number of major A roads impassable on Monday.

Police in the Borders described the situation as "horrendous", with further serious disruption in Grampian.

Power cuts

About 3,000 customers in Scotland were without electricity on Monday morning after snow damaged power lines.

The bad weather is set to continue

The worst affected areas are in Argyll, the Isle of Arran and Tayside, although Scottish Hydro-Electric hopes to restore supplies by the end of the day.

The BBC weather centre has warned the bad weather will continue with temperatures in the north of the country expected to remain around freezing.

Further south, a severe flood warning is in force on the River Kym in Huntingdonshire, after severe overnight rain.

Resort closures

Schools have also been affected by the big freeze north of the border.

All schools are closed in Shetland and 70 schools have been shut in Aberdeenshire, which represents half the county's total.

The bad weather has even failed to bring cheer to Scotland's ski resorts - they were forced to close due to high winds and drifting snow.

Information about flood warnings in England and Wales is available on 0845 9881188.