Schools remain closed amid freeze

Dozens of schools were closed and thousands of homes were without water as the UK continues to suffer from the effects of freezing weather. Motorists have been urged to take care after temperatures plunged to -12C (10.4F) overnight, on the coldest night so far of the past week's cold snap. Sub-zero temperatures in Dorset have frozen a half-mile stretch of sea. Welsh Water said around 400 homes in the Rhondda Fach valley remained cut off but their supply would be "back on soon". Schools in Wales and Cumbria, which has seen snow, have been closed. The Met Office has advised local authorities across the UK to grit untreated roads, but said it would not be as icy as previous nights.