The UK faces the coldest night this winter on Thursday with the mercury set to plunge as low as -20C (-4F) while reeling from snow, blizzards, ice and floods.

Freezing floodwater in the Midlands saw a danger to life warning in force with more icy rain, sleet and snow set to sweep in and cause more travel disruption.

Shocking images across the UK show contrasting weather chaos – with cars frozen where they were abandoned in the Peak District while homes were flooded out by gushing water in Barrow upon Soar, Leicestershire.

Tuesday saw more roads, rails and runways shut with more chaos looming thanks to a new Met Office yellow warning for ice for the Midlands until midday Wednesday – adding to three others for ice and snow for the north of England, Scotland and the south coast.

But the UK has also been warned to brace for the biggest winter chill in four years with Wednesday and Thursday nights set to see the temperature plunge into minus double figures – sparking health concerns for Britain’s vulnerable.

BBC weather forecaster Simon King explained: “With clearing skies and lighter winds on Wednesday night, temperatures will drop quite rapidly below freezing.

“Across most parts of the UK there will be a hard frost with minimum temperatures getting down between -3C and -10C widely.

“Where there is still snow cover, it could be as cold as -14C to -16C, making Wednesday the coldest night of winter so far.

“Over the Pennines and the snow fields of Scotland, we are expecting minimum temperatures to be -16C to -20 C.

“The last time the UK recorded a temperature that low was on 11 February 2021, when the temperature at Braemar in Aberdeenshire fell to -23C.

“While flooding and further wintry showers continue to affect parts of the United Kingdom, the cold snap will continue until the end of this week.

“The cold Arctic air that is currently across the UK will stick around for the rest of the week bringing some of the coldest weather of the winter so far.

“While widespread and hard frosts are likely overnight, daytime temperatures will stay well below average for this time of year.”

On Tuesday evening, 106 flood warnings had been issued, meaning flooding is expected, and 202 flood alerts, meaning flooding is possible, were active across England.

A danger to life warning has been issued for the River Soar near Barrow upon Soar, Leicestershire, where people living in caravan parks have been urged by the Environment Agency to act now, with a large-scale evacuation required to save lives.

Meanwhile amber health alerts from the UK Health Security Agency across England are valid until midday on Sunday.

Parts of the UK woke up to a fresh covering of snow on Tuesday, especially around northern Scotland, Greater Manchester, Cheshire, the West Country and parts of southern England.

Meanwhile, the heavy rain from Sunday and Monday is still bringing some flooding, particularly in Leicestershire and Lincolnshire.

Neil Monteith, 49, who owns a caravan on the front row of the Proctors Pleasure Park, near Barrow upon Soar in Leicestershire, said: “The water is the highest I’ve seen it, I’ve never seen it this bad before.”

A woman who lives near the Proctors Pleasure Park and did not wish to be named said: “They put in new flood defences – it used to flood all the time then it stopped, but this is unprecedented.

“It’s a flood plain, that’s what it’s for, but they build houses on it and nobody will acknowledge it or accept it.”

It comes as the Environment Agency estimated that across England at least 300 properties have flooded since New Year’s Eve.

In North Yorkshire, police said the body of a man had been recovered on Monday from an area of flooding in Beal, near Eggborough and Knottingley.

The number of flood warnings should start to decrease with no further rainfall expected in those areas affected in the coming days.

By Wednesday, a weather system running through the English Channel brings the risk of some rain, sleet and snow across southern England.

Worryingly, there are now four yellow weather warnings in place across the UK on Wednesday.

In North and west Scotland, a yellow snow and ice warning has been in place will last until midday Wednesday, which is expected to lead to some travel disruption – while across Northern Ireland a yellow snow and ice warning is also expected to end on Midday Wednesday.

East and west Midlands, north-west England, Wales and Yorkshire have been slapped with a yellow ice warning, also until midday Wednesday, with icy stretches leading to “some impacts to transport”, the Met Office says.

While in London, south east and south west England a yellow snow warning starts at 9am Wednesday until midnight says there is a “small chance” of power cuts, of rural communities becoming cut off and travel delays.

Already hundreds of schools expected to open for Spring term were closed across the UK on Tuesday, with Bradford City Council saying 184 were shut in its area, as well as more than a dozen in Lancashire and eight in Northern Ireland.

Road and rail links have been closed including the A1 in Lincolnshire – which is closed between the B6326 near Newark-on-Trent and the B1174 near Grantham, according to National Highways.

And Great Western Railway said flooding has closed the line between Liskeard and Looe in Cornwall.

Manchester, Bristol and Liverpool John Lennon airports were forced to suspend flights earlier on Tuesday because of the conditions.

It comes as the Fire Brigades Union (FBU) called for the Government to take action to prepare fire and rescue services for flood response following widespread flooding.

Unlike the rest of the UK, fire and rescue services in England do not have a statutory duty to respond to flooding, meaning that central Government does not provide secure funding for national flood resilience and response, the FBU said.

The FBU wrote to Home Secretary Yvette Cooper in November, calling for “the UK to be made resilient to flooding with a statutory duty and investment”.