Wintry conditions to maintain their grip on Scotland into weekend

● More snow and ice warnings issued by Met Office as country freezes

are likely, as are public transport cancellations.

“In a few places, mainly upland areas, vehicles may become stranded.

“There is a chance of power cuts, while services such as mobile phone coverage may be affected. A few rural communities may become cut off.”

Police Scotland lowered its advice level to stage two - travel with caution - after there was “minimal disruption” during the morning rush hour.

It had been at stage four on Wednesday until Thursday morning, before being reduced to stage three.

However, officers have warned this could be raised again with disruption and delays on the roads still likely.

Transport minister Humza Yousaf said: “There is still a need for motorists to exercise caution on the roads during this period as the weather could well lead to some chal- lenging driving conditions in particular over higher routes, which may see some heavy snowfall and a higher risk of disruption.

“Motorists will also potentially face significant delays at peak times. Our winter maintenance teams are continuing to prepare the trunk road network and stand ready to react to changing conditions, treating roads and helping motorists where required.

“My advice, as always, is to take extra time to plan your journey, listen to police advice and drive to the conditions.”

A separate warning of ice is in force until 11am today in the Borders and northern England.

A further ice warning will cover the western half of Scotland from midnight to 10am tomorrow, where further snow showers are forecast.

Gritters were deployed to clear new snowfalls on major routes in southern Scotland, including the M74 and A702 near Abington in South Lanarkshire.

Scotrail passengers were delayed by a snow build-up preventing points between tracks working in Aviemore.

Scottish Borders Council closed all its schools along with 13 schools and six nurseries in the Highlands.

In South Lanarkshire, all schools and nurseries in the Clydesdale are closed while in North Lanarkshire secondary school prelim examinations have been postponed.

0 A villager clearing snow at Leadhills in South Lanarkshire