Parts of the north of England awoke to scenes right out of the front of a Christmas card after snow fell overnight.

In County Durham, snow-crusted fields were bisected in black by newly ploughed roads, while the sunrise over Deepdale in the Yorkshire Dales National Park lent the frosty scenes a warming glow.

Winter weather Dec 16th 2019
A view of snow-covered fields from the A689 near Kilhope in County Durham (Owen Humphreys/PA)
Winter weather Dec 16th 2019
Sheep search for grass under the snow (Danny Lawson/PA)
Winter weather Dec 16th 2019
An aerial view of a gritter ploughing snow by a farmhouse near Carrshields in Northumberland (Owen Humphreys/PA)
Winter weather Dec 16th 2019
A snow-covered farm made it a slower start to the day for one farmer (Owen Humphreys/PA)
Winter weather Dec 16th 2019
A gritter ploughs snow over Fleet Moss in the Yorkshire Dales National Park (Danny Lawson/PA)
Winter weather Dec 16th 2019
A view of the snow-covered Kilhope slate mine in County Durham (Owen Humphreys/PA)
Winter weather Dec 16th 2019
A quad bike navigates the morning commute near Beckermonds (Danny Lawson/PA)
Winter weather Dec 16th 2019
A snow-covered sign offers little help to those who are lost (Danny Lawson/PA)
Winter weather Dec 16th 2019
An abandoned car near Fleet Moss (Danny Lawson/PA)
Winter weather Dec 16th 2019
The hilly roads of the Yorkshire Dales proved tricky once covered in snow (Danny Lawson/PA)