UK set for more heavy snow, businesses count the cost

BBC weather forecaster Tomasz Schafernaker said the worst-affected area has been the Thames Valley and Greater London where the transport network is at its most concentrated, which is why there has been such chaos.

He said some parts of London have already seen up to eight inches (20 cm) of snow.

Further snowfall in northern England and the Pennines could be made worse by strong winds which will cause snow to drift, he added.

In the late afternoon, more heavy snow was forecast to hit the eastern part of England, including East Anglia, London and the Home Counties, accompanied by strong winds. This will work its way up through the Midlands, northern England and eastern Scotland.

Monday evening will see the snow falling briefly to sleet in East Anglia and the south-east of England, before it freezes.

Parts of the Midlands, East and South will experience temperatures between -4C and -7C on Monday night.

"The economy gets put back by a day as people earn less and pay less tax. People make do with what they've got at home, they don't go out and buy a sandwich," said Stephen Alambritis, chief spokesman at the FSB.

Trading volumes at the London Stock Exchange were more than 10pc down as market makers failed to get into work. LSE said it expected about 580,000 trades to have taken place on Monday, compared with the 650,000 that took place on an average trading day in December.

The newly-opened Oliver!, Avenue Q, Les Miserables, The Phantom of the Opera, Mamma Mia! and Jersey Boys have all been called off.

The Royal Opera House performance of Die tote Stadt has also been cancelled.

Promoters said the weather meant that they could not guarantee the performers and crew would be able to make it into central London.