Urea, the colourless compound in urine, has been used to de-ice pavements in a town centre.

Reading Borough Council said its Highways Team was "well stocked" with urea in advance of heavy snowfall.

The council told the BBC the team had been out using the crystalline compound this morning, but admitted it hadn't worked as well as grit and salt due to the subzero temperatures.

To clarify, the urea used is created in laboratories, not lavatories.

NOTE: We do not recommend people use their own urea to de-ice their streets!

Reports have shown some of the damage that big waves and high winds has caused on the Devon and Cornwall coast.

The wind seems to also be hampering the authorities' efforts to tackle the snow.

Devon County Council tweeted a picture of a gritter which toppled on the A379 between Shaldon and Torquay.

In the tweet the council said no-one was injured.

Engineers on TransPennine routes are battling the elements to get some of their services moving.

The rail franchise is not running any services to Scotland and other routes to northern cities are significantly reduced.

TfL says that adverse weather means there will be "a number of cancellations" on its rail service between 16:30 and 19:00 this evening.

It says staff will try to run a full service, but advises customers to complete their journeys earlier than usual..

Red alerts and travel chaos are causing misery, but many people have braved the wintry conditions

Bob Dale
BBC Live reporter

Away from the travel disruption, the snow is a great chance to take pictures, especially of wildlife braving the elements.

Readers have been sending in their efforts.

Image source, Katie Taylor

Down in Whitstable, Carol Hedges Henson snapped a hungry seagull with its eye on a snack.

Image source, Carol Hedges Henson

Kady Louise Knight has been very busy, spotting a fox...

Image source, Kady Louise Knight

...and the local birdlife.

Image source, Kady Louise Knight

Image source, Kady Louise Knight

Keep sending us your snow snaps, either by Facebook, external or Twitter, external.

Hayley Westcott
BBC News Online

There are several power cuts across Devon this afternoon.

Western Power Distribution said it is working to restore supplies.

Areas affected include:

• EX14 area of Honiton - aimed to be restored by 20:00
• TQ10 postcode area in South Brent - aimed to be restored by 16:00
• PL21 Ivybridge area - aimed to be restored by 18:00

Lucy Edwards is blind and 'dreads' the snow. When the snow blankets the edges of the pavement her guide dog finds it hard to navigate.

Along with heavy snow, the Environment Agency is warning that Storm Emma will bring "strong winds and big waves" to the northeast and southwest coasts.

BBC Southeast is already reporting , externalthat the A379 at Torcross along the Slapton line has already been encroached by the sea.

The Agency's chairwoman has shared what to do in case of flooding.

Southeastern Railway is telling customers not to travel after disruptions to its entire network.

There are currently no trains running in east Kent.

A statement from the company read: "Please DO NOT TRAVEL at the moment - we're working with NetworkRail South East to get things up and running as quickly as we can."

The M62 will be closed indefinitely between Rochdale and Huddersfield after hundreds of drivers were stranded on the motorway overnight.

Greater Manchester Police said the military, mountain rescue and other emergency services were assisting in clearing the road and getting stranded drivers to safety.

South Western Railway is to close its services early at 20:00 GMT this evening.

The rail operator urged passengers not to attempt to travel and "return as early as possible".

SWR operates the London Waterloo line from Woking and Reading in Berkshire through Wokingham and Bracknell into the capital.

In a further Twitter post, it said tickets from today would remain valid throughout the weekend.

A lot of police and weather forecasters have been discussing freezing rain, after reports of the phenomenon hitting southern England and south Wales.

It is extremely dangerous for drivers. Liquid water effectively freezes on impact, transforming into black ice on the road.

BBC Weather presenter Chris Fawkes said: "You can’t see it but if you’re driving in your car and you see the temperature is below zero and it’s raining, you’re in trouble.

"You can’t even grit the road for this stuff because the grit gets washed off by the next lot of freezing rain, which freezes on impact."

BBC readers have been sending in their pictures to Weather Watchers. Here is a selection from this morning:

Image source, Haymaker

Image source, Bensmatt55

Image source, Lenny

Image source, Alastair

Image source, James

Image source, UncleFester

Bob Dale
BBC Live reporter

Emergency crews are dealing with two multi-vehicle accidents on the M20.

A six-vehicle crash coastbound between junctions eight and nine near Ashford has left just one lane open and at least one person injured.

Two cars, two lorries and two vans were involved in the accident, which happened just before 08:45 GMT.

Further up the M20, the coastbound carriageway is completely blocked because of an eight-vehicle crash involving two lorries, five cars and a van, between junctions three and four.

At least one of the vehicles is on fire.

Drivers are being warned to take extra care because of black ice on the carriageways.

Image source, Chevelle Robinson

There was also an accident on the London-bound carriageway between junctions five and six near Maidstone.

Image source, Chevelle Robinson

Image source, Chevelle Robinson

Alistair McGhie, BBC Wales

Three people have been rescued from a car in Cowbridge, Wales, after snow trapped them inside their vehicle overnight.

Two men and a woman were taken to hospital after their ordeal which began at 22:00 GMT on Thursday.

An appeal for volunteers to help find the missing white car was issued this morning by the fire services' Jennie Griffiths.

The stranded passengers and driver were helped out from the boot of their car just before 9:00 GMT.

Volunteer rescuer Gareth Esplin said: "The snow drifts were above the height of my Land Rover. We were in communication with them on the phone and I asked them to sound their horn every 45 mins."

He said half a dozen people, using vehicles and tractors, managed to get to the car via a field.

Image source, Jennie Griffiths SWFS

Heavy snowfall in the south west of England left many unable to get to work on Friday morning - but one Bristol resident would not be beaten.

Alex Stone posted this video of his friend snowboarding to work, dressed in a suit.

Maybe he was inspired by this Nottingham commuter on Thursday...

Glasgow Airport has re-opened after days of disruption caused by 'the worst snowfall in our history'.

On Wednesday evening, 200 people camped overnight in the airport after all flights were cancelled. The Red Cross provided food, water, blankets and cots for the stranded passengers.

The airport had hoped to re-open at some point yesterday, but due to severe weather it remained closed until early this morning.

This morning it issued a statement to say it was currently operational, but "a large number of delays and cancellations" are still occurring.

Skegness resident Andi Kinsman-Moore has been without running water since his pipes froze yesterday.

His solution? Melting snow on the hob, of course.

“Our running water cut out as our pipes have frozen, so I decided to get water the Bear Grylls way," he said. “It works really well!”

Image source, Andi Kinsman-Moore