Mercury set to plummet due to icy blast, forecasters predict

Scotland could endure the coldest winter for six years, the Met Office official winter forecast warns.

Bookmakers Ladbrokes cut white Christmas odds to 7/4 in Aberdeen and 5/2 in Glasgow and Edinburgh.

A spokesman said: “Punters dreaming of a white Christmas may well get their wish this year.”

The country is being threatened by -15C (5F) temperatures, even colder than last winter’s “beast from the east”.

Scotland will be worst hit and faces a stormy Christmas period before a freeze in the New Year as cold Arctic air blows in.

Widespread frosts and the chance of freezing fog are expected, with temperatures this morning down to -5C in Scotland.