MUCH OF IRELAND is covered in frost this morning but spare a thought for our neighbours in the UK, which experienced its coldest night since 2012 last night, with snow and ice causing widespread disruption for commuters today.

Ice forms on the Clunie water at Glenshee near Braemar in the Scottish Highlands. PA Wire / PA Images PA Wire / PA Images / PA Images

With Britain in the grips of a vicious cold snap the Met office has issued an amber warning for London and the south-east – alerting people that the conditions pose a potential risk to life and property.

Temperatures dropped as low as -15.4C in the Scottish Highlands last night, surpassing Thursday night’s low of 14.4C.

Both night’s temperatures are the lowest in the UK since 2012 when it reached -15.6C at Holbeach, Lincolnshire.

Two yellow weather warnings for snow and ice will also remain in force until this afternoon across southern England, Wales and the eastern seaboard.

The Met has also warned commuters that driving conditions are “treacherous” in many southern areas.

More than 100 people spent the night at the Jamaica Inn pub in Cornwall after their cars became stuck on the A30.

A swan struggles to get off the frozen Sefton Park Lake in Liverpool. Peter Byrne Peter Byrne

The inn had to set up two makeshift dormitories as all 36 rooms were occupied, with some shared by strangers.

Sammy Wheeler, who runs the property, said some of the guests had walked ”a good three, four or five miles” through the snow to get there, the BBC reports.

Pupils at numerous schools in Wales and Cornwall are getting a snow day today, however the opposite was the case for students at Callywith College in Cornwall who were forced to stay in school overnight because of the snow.

The adverse conditions have led to flights disruptions at Heathrow, Bristol and Bournemouth airports while train services have altered timetables to deal with problems.

In Ireland, frost and ice is set to linger in some areas throughout the day and it will be very cold tonight with severe frost and ice widespread throughout the country.

The icy conditions will finally clear for most areas on Saturday which will be bright and sunny.