Snow and icy weather hit England - in pictures

A man skates on the frozen fens in Welney Photograph: Darren Staples/Reuters

Livestock on high ground near Hawes in the Pennines are tended to as forecasters warn of severe weather Photograph: John Giles/PA

Swimmer Angela Lurssen braves the early morning cold to cross the Serpentine in Hyde Park, London Photograph: Anthony Devlin/PA

A woman walks through snow in Hawes, Yorkshire Photograph: Owen Humphreys/PA

Ice partially covers the river Swale near Reeth, North Yorkshire Photograph: John Giles/PA

Seagulls stand on ice covering a pond in Hyde Park in London Photograph: Finbarr O'reilly/Reuters

Snow begins to fall on Clapham Common, south London Photograph: Anthony Devlin/PA

People walk on the snow covered Westminster bridge in London Photograph: Sang Tan/AP

Traffic comes to a standstill on the A50 trunk road through Stoke-on-Trent as vehicles struggle in heavy snow and people abandon their cars, causing tailbacks Photograph: Christopher Furlong/Getty Images

A couple walk up Muswell Hill, north London, as cars struggle to drive through the snow Photograph: Leon Neal/AFP/Getty Images

Seagulls sit on a snowy railing in front of Big Ben in London Photograph: Kirsty Wigglesworth/AP

A hiker looks at the spectacular frozen water fall at Hardraw, Yorkshire Photograph: Owen Humphreys/PA

A partly frozen fountain in Trafalgar Square, London Photograph: Peter Macdiarmid/Getty Images

Dogs play in the snow on the Sandringham estate in Norfolk Photograph: Ben Stansall/AFP/Getty Images

A man walks with his daughter and son at a snow-covered Primrose Hill in London Photograph: Peter Macdiarmid/Getty Images

A family with a sledge on the beach in Scarborough, Yorkshire Photograph: John Giles/PA

Police officers carry bags with their food for the day as they walk through a snow-covered Hampstead Heath in London Photograph: Matt Dunham/AP

Rosie, a border-Jack Russell cross, plays in the snow in Hoxne, Suffolk Photograph: Graham Turner for the Guardian