Scores of flights cancelled as fog shrouds the country... and we've got gales and even SNOW on the way

By TAMARA COHEN



Tricky: As this photo shows, Heathrow Airport was shrouded in thick fog this morning



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.



Grounded: Fog reduced visibility to dangerously low levels across much of Britain last night. Pictured here is a beach-front in Saltburn in Cleveland.



Chaos: The cancellation of flights caused long queues at Heathrow's Terminal 5 early this morning



By 8.30am a total of 24 flights from Heathrow were already cancelled, according to a spokesman.

The destinations affected included Manchester, Glasgow, Amsterdam, Brussels, Stockholm, Cologne and Nice.

Ten flights due to depart from London City had also been cancelled, with services to Dublin, Rotterdam and Paris among those hit.



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.



Atmospheric: The City of London was clouded in fog this morning as flights across the country were cancelled



Chilly: A couple cycles through the sports fields of Dulwich College in south London yesterday









Grey day: A pedestrian emerges from the fog as he makes his way across Hammersmith Bridge in West London yesterday



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.



Clearing: Fog blows off the Houses of Parliament yesterday morning



Fog at the time: The capital's landmarks, including the London Eye, the Houses of Parliament and Big Ben rise out of the mist yesterday morning as the country woke to a chilly start to the day



No visibility: St Paul's Cathedral did a disappearing act as thick fog shrouded the capital. Many flights were grounded because of the bad weather