Sea freezes at Weston-super-Mare

The sea froze in sub-zero temperatures at Weston-super-Mare on Monday morning

The sea has frozen in Somerset as bitterly cold weather sweeps in from Russia.

Pictures taken at Weston-super-Mare show swathes of the beach covered in ice on Monday morning.

Ian Fergusson, BBC West weather presenter, said seeing the sea freeze is unusual.

"On the margins of the sea, where the water is very shallow and has lower salinity, it can freeze under sustained sub-zero temperatures."

"It's been quite a number of years since we last saw this sort of phenomenon on Bristol Channel coasts"

"It will become a repeated sight over the next two to three days as temperatures fall even further accompanied by a truly bitter wind chill."

Footsteps in the ice on Weston-super-Mare beach

Walker Anthony Yeates said he was "really surprised to see the sea frozen".

"It was very cold but the wind chill was the real killer," he said.

Wind chill during Monday will mean that it feels like -10C to -15C in Weston-super-Mare.