ROADS, railways and schools have all been thrown into chaos around the country today after the worst snowfall in 18 years.Airport runways including both at Heathrow were temporarily closed while dozens of trains were cancelled in London along with all the capital's bus services.

ROADS, railways and schools have all been thrown into chaos around the country today after the worst snowfall in 18 years.

Airport runways including both at Heathrow were temporarily closed while dozens of trains were cancelled in London along with all the capital's bus services.

Snow ploughs and gritters were working to clear roads as much of the UK was blanketed in snow.

Met Office forecasters said the last time the UK saw such widespread snowfall was in February 1991 and that a large area of sleet and snow showers was now moving out of France and heading towards the UK.

It was expected to reach London by 3pm before moving across East Anglia this evening.

"And we're going to get more," she said.

"There are a lot of showers still coming in from the North Sea.''

Highways bosses urged people not to make journeys unless essential while passengers also struggled to get information on rail journeys online as websites were inundated with inquiries.

Snow drifting onto train tracks caused delays and cancellations on a number of train services from London to the south coast and many schools have also been closed due to the weather.

More than 50 schools in Kent are closed and the same number in Birmingham and the Black Country.

North and central areas of Hampshire were worst hit with travel disruption due to at least 8cm of snow causing some roads to be impassable in the morning rush hour. The M3 northbound was down to one lane.

Police said heavy snow was causing problems on roads in Essex and Cambridgeshire. Drivers were delayed on the M11 following minor accidents.

London Ambulance was also under severe pressure and is currently only attending life-threatening calls.