Minus 7C, coldest night of autumn
Four die as freezing fog blankets country
FOUR people were killed yesterday as freezing fog blanketed the country after the coldest night of the autumn.
The lowest temperature in England and Wales was recorded at Redesdale Camp, Northumberland, at - 7.1C (19.2F) in the early hours of yesterday. Braemar, in the Scottish Highlands, recorded -9.9C (14.2F).
As the freezing conditions gripped Britain, a pedestrian was killed on the M4 at 3.45am yesterday. The victim was hit after walking into the left-hand lane of the westbound carriageway between junctions 5 and 6, near Slough, Berkshire. Police said it was not yet known who the pedestrian was or why they were on the motorway. The possibility that their vehicle had broken down and they had become disorientated in the thick fog has not been excluded.
The victim was struck by an HGV and killed instantly.
The motorway was closed for almost six hours.
An hour later, another pedestrian was knocked down and killed by an HGV on the A34 dual carriageway between Kingsworthy junction and Three Maids Hill, Hampshire, at 4.45am.
Elsewhere, a homeless 57-yearold father-of-three was thought to have frozen to death in his tent overnight in Wakefield, West Yorkshire. And a body was found in the search for Helen Maider, 89, who went missing in the cold weather in Bishopbriggs, East Dunbartonshire, Scotland. The Met Office said the thick freezing fog occurred due to an area of high pressure across most of the country, which brought dry and settled conditions during the daytime.
Dry weather with some sunny spells is expected to continue in eastern England today and tomorrow, while a weather front stalls in the west, bringing cloud and some patchy rain.
On Friday, sunshine and showers are likely in the South, whereas northern England and Wales are due to be mostly cloudy.
By the weekend, temperatures of 10-12C (50-54F) are likely to be widespread, with up to 13C (55F) in the South-West.
The normal daytime average for late November is 9-10C (48-50F).