Safari nyingi za ndege zafutwa Uingereza

Dozens of flights were cancelled in central England today after a thick fog descended on much of the country.

The Met Office issued a severe weather warning this morning for regions including London and the South-East, the East and West Midlands, Yorkshire and Humber and the east of England.

And there are even reports that the UK could be facing snow later this week as the spell of
unseasonably warm weather comes to an end.

One flight scheduled to depart Leeds Bradford Airport earlier today has also been cancelled. The 6.20am KLM service had been due to fly to Amsterdam, which has also been affected by fog.

Hundreds of passengers had their journeys disrupted last night as fog grounded flights at London airports.

At Heathrow, 132 flights, most of them short-haul, were cancelled and many others delayed. Officials warned that the poor visibility could continue for the first half of today.

London City Airport said 44 flights were suspended and dozens delayed or diverted due to the poor weather, though all restrictions had been lifted by late last night.

There were also severe delays at Gatwick, but officials said there were only a handful of cancellations.

The severe weather warning issued by the Met Office for this morning was lifted around ten o'clock and is no longer in place.

Yesterday saw winter finally start to bite, but temperatures will remain mild until Thursday when frosts and gale force winds of up to 60mph will set in, forecasters said.

And snow will hit the UK by the end of the week, according to the Met Office, who forecast that the Scottish Highlands are likely to see snow on Thursday or Friday

Heavy fog delayed or cancelled around 58 inbound and 74 outbound flights at Heathrow, the worst affected airport.

All stranded passengers had been re-booked and would be put up in hotel accommodation overnight if necessary, said a spokesman.

Some domestic passengers were being taken to their destination by coach.

The airport was still open, and most flights did manage to take off and land, but air traffic controllers were restricting numbers for safety reasons, she said.