Forecasters believe last night might have been one of the coldest nights ever in Norfolk - with temperatures as low as -17 degrees centigrade recorded.

That low was recorded in Buxton by Charles Briscoe, who has long kept records of the weather in his village, while temperatures of -14.6 degrees were recorded at Calthorpe and -12 degrees at Norwich International Airport.

Forecasters from University of East Anglia-based Weatherquest said readings such as that suggested it had been one of the county's coldest nights ever - and said the chilly temperatures were set to continue right up until Christmas.

But, while there could be a few more snow showers over the weekend, Norfolk looks likely to be spared the heavy snow which has hit much of the rest of the country.

Weatherquest's Chris Bell said: 'We have got a band of heavy snow moving through London and Essex, but it might not make it all the way to Norfolk. 'We could see some snow showers, but not the major snow event that is happening in some parts of the country.

'But this could air will be here now until Christmas and I don't see the temperatures warming up at all.

'Daytime temperatures are between -1 degrees centigrade and two degrees centigrade and the overnight lows could continue to be very low. 'Overnight we might have a bit more snow and the temperatures could be between -5 degrees and -10 degrees.'

He said because the weather was so unusual it made it very difficult to predict the models, but said there could be more significant snow late on Monday going into Tuesday, especially if the winds turn easterly or north easterly.