It has prompted us to issue an early warning from midday on Thursday to midday on Friday. It is going to turn very cold and very icy, with the chance of snow everywhere. We are likely to see snow over several days.

　　But Jonathan Powell added: On the bright side, a white Christmas is on the cards for Scotland, the North-east, the east of the UK, and the South-east and London. At this stage I would say with some certainty this is now a foregone conclusion.

　　Bookmaker William Hill said: We are expecting more snow and should that run over into Christmas Day, we could get hammered for over ￡1million.

　　The Met Office predicts the new big freeze will last until January 9 and could be colder than the infamous winter of 1962-63.

　　The warnings came as supermarkets in Scotland stopped taking online orders for goods other than groceries over fears they may not arrive in time for Christmas. Tesco, Sainsburys and Asda have halted or suspended deliveries.

　　A statement on Tesco Directs website says: This is due to the adverse weather conditions causing a build-up of orders. However, if you have already placed an order we will do our very best to deliver your items as soon as possible.

　　The new cold spell threatens to wreak havoc nationwide and could ruin family get-togethers for millions.

　　It will also test already-stretched councils which have had to deal with the earliest snowfalls for decades.

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