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• Temperatures reach -7C overnight as Met Office issues ice warning for most of country
• Commuters battled through snow in Leeds, Newcastle and Lincolnshire
• Four inches blanketed road on higher ground this morning
• Follows a week of transport chaos with airports closing and dramatic car crashes putting police officers and a boy of 11 into hospital
  

By Emma Reynolds

PUBLISHED: 04:40 EST, 7 December 2012 | UPDATED: 08:47 EST, 7 December 2012

Britain is facing a week of freezing conditions and possible heavy snowfall when Siberian winds dubbed the 'Beast from the East' bring us bitterly cold weather.

Fierce winds blowing in from eastern Russia will lash the North East after a fairly mild weekend, bringing freezing temperatures and ice to test families already struggling in the extreme conditions.

Eastern areas including Lincolnshire and Newcastle will again bear the brunt of the severe weather, which brought misery to rush-hour this morning after commuters battled through four inches of snow and temperatures of -7C.

Mud dragged the eight-year-old boy down as they walked along the shoreline under some cliffs. His dad went to pull the boy free and immediately started sinking into the mud too.

They managed to struggle out of the quagmire to shout for help, but meanwhile the nine-year-old girl began sinking.

She was trapped in the freezing mud for half an hour until Kent Fire and Rescue Service and the coastguard were able to reach her and pull her out.

Sheppey watch manager Tony Fox said 'She was extremely cold, wet and very shaken but unharmed.

'This incident highlights how dangerous parts of our coastline can be. Don't risk your life by venturing on to the mud - it can be like quicksand.'

Engineers in Somerset are working to restore access to the world-famous Cheddar Gorge beauty spot which is still cut off after last month's heavy rain and floods damaged roads in the area.

The B3135 - the winding, main route through the gorge - has been closed for nearly two weeks.

Somerset County Council said today that until the road surface dries out, repairs are impossible.

Andrew Turner, highways manager said he had 'not seen it like this, ever', during his time working at the council.

'The trouble we've got here, is that where we've got flowing water there is no fix at this point,' he added. 'We've got areas of carriageway where the tarmac is gone and water's still flowing through it, and we can't make a repair.'

An 11-year-old boy is in a critical condition after a family Range Rover was hit by a freight train and three people were hospitalised after following a head-on crash involving a police car.

A 79-year-old man was found dead by his partner at 5am on a freezing morning yesterday in Angus, Scotland.

Age Concern has issued severe weather warnings, after 24,000 people died last winter from cold-related illnesses such as hypothermia, according to the Office for National Statistics. Of those, 21,700 were in the over-65 age group.

Wednesday was complete transport chaos, when snow of less than an inch in most parts grounded more than 40 flights, closed schools and left major roads in gridlock. Five airports, including Stansted and Luton, closed temporarily, leaving passengers stranded.

Forecasters report a current breakdown in high-altitude westerly winds - known as ‘sudden stratospheric warming’ - which can allow easterly winds from as far away as Siberia to chill Britain and gave us the coldest night of the year on Wednesday.

The pattern caused the bitter 2009-10 winter, the coldest for 31 years.

• Email your photos of the snow to mailonlinepictures@dailymail.co.uk

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