FREEZING city residents remain in the grip of an Arctic chill today after 24 hours which saw the coldest temperatures for five years.

People woke up to ice, mist and snow this morning as weather experts reported temperatures plummeting as low as minus 10 degrees Celsius yesterday.

The last time the city was gripped by a big freeze was December 2000, when temperatures plummeted to the same level. Daytime temperatures also struggled to get above freezing yesterday with a chilly minus 2C being the maximum recorded.

Worcestershire is experiencing the big freeze that has swept the country this week and people are advised to travel only if necessary, keep an eye on elderly relatives and neighbours and wrap up warm before braving the bitter conditions.

Worcester News weatherman Paul Damari said yesterday was the coldest day since January, when temperatures plummeted to a similar level, although the county was about 2C warmer than the lowest recorded in Britain this week when temperatures dropped to minus 10C in some parts.

"We have experienced minus

8C before but you have to look back a good number of years.

"It is so cold because of the layer of cold air lying over the ground combined with misty cloud cover - resulting in no sunshine to warm up the ground and lift temperatures.

"Frost lingered in most areas yesterday and was still present today after wet snow fell overnight and remained present on higher ground such as the Malvern Hills. This was thanks to the less cold Atlantic air moving over the cold continental air creating the band of snow."

The cold snap brought chaos to some of the country's road and rail networks but residents that stayed at home in Worcestershire were lucky as the 30 gritters cleared roads of the worst of the treacherous ice and snow.

A spokesman for Worcestershire County Council said: "Our gritters cover 1,300km of roads every time they go out and they have been two or three times some days during this cold snap.

"It is essential to keep the roads as clear as possible and all gritters were fitted with snow ploughs throughout last night to ensure the worst of the snow was moved before most people even got out of bed."

He added around 12,000 tonnes of grit was used per winter season in total.

The spokesman was unable to reveal the cost of the gritting operation.

Tesco even reported bulk buying of comforting winter fare including soup, curries, hot chocolate, pies and also hats , gloves and de-icer as residents stocked up for the big chill.

But Mr Demari said temperatures were expected to climb back above freezing later today and residents may even be able to shed a few layers of clothing before January 1.

See tomorrow's Worcester News for the latest weather predictions for the New Year.