FEARS that another heavy snowfall could paralyse the region just before a rapid thaw set in proved unfounded as the harsh weather missed most of East Anglia.

A small amount of wet snow did fall across Suffolk during the early hours of Saturday morning – but it had cleared by the time most people were up and about.

By breakfast time the sun was appearing, and the thaw that forecasters had been predicting seemed to have set in.

Temperatures are set to reach 5C later on Saturday, and could reach double figures by Sunday and during next week – prompting fears in some parts of the country that a rapid thaw could lead to flooding problems.

A police spokeswoman said there had been few problems on the roads – there had been a couple of minor accidents overnight caused by cars sliding on ice but nothing serious.

Rail services between Ipswich and London were running well – although there were delays between Ipswich and Norwich because of a fault on a level crossing north of Diss.