The last white Christmas was in 2010 but some forecasters are suggesting that this year could see snow in Norwich.

Forecaster AccuWeather has predicted a minor snowfall of about 6mm in Norwich on December 24, with temperatures as low as 0C.

Local weather forecaster Weatherquest, however, said: 'It's too soon to tell, we're a long way off in terms of anything reliable.'

Weatherquest did say that we are heading for a colder snap from this Sunday lasting through to Wednesday 12, but that it was unlikely there would be any significant snow in the region.

A 'cold weather calculator' based on historical data supplied by the Met Office's National Climate Information Centre calculates a 12pc chance of a white Christmas in East Anglia.

This is 2pc up on the average year, which Weatherquest explained only has a 10pc chance of significant snow, but still means a festive flurry is slim odds.

However, when The Met Office definition of a White Christmas - a snowflake falling somewhere in the UK during Christmas Eve or Christmas Day – is taken into account then this chance rises to just over 70pc each year.