Region's coldest night forces safari park to close

Cold and snowy scenes at Woburn Safari Park have forced the closure of the site

A safari park has been forced to close due to plummeting temperatures, which hit the lowest in the East of England for almost a decade.

Woburn Safari Park said it would not open on Thursday as the Bedfordshire site saw overnight temperatures of -12.7C (9.14F) - the coldest night in the region since January 2013 and the coldest December night since 2010.

The park said: "We apologise for the inconvenience, but we are unable to open today due to the weather conditions and the safety concerns that this causes for visitors and animals."

It said it hoped to reopen again on Friday.

Tasha the donkey has been keeping warm by wearing a coat

BBC Weather Watcher Liz70 snapped a snowy and frosty scene in nearby Dunstable

Dan Holley, from Norwich-based Weather Quest, said: "This may be the coldest of this spell - it'll be close the next couple of nights, but perhaps not quite as low as -13C."

Unofficial stations in parts of the region with snow cover have reported temperatures as low as -16C (3.2F), he added.

On Tuesday, temperatures of -10.7C (12.7F) were reported overnight in Andrewsfield, near Braintree, Essex.

Koda the North American black bear is more accustomed to the wintry weather than animals from other continents