Weather forecasters are predicting chaos on the roads as Britain returns to work next week, with warnings of ice, sleet, and freezing temperatures.

Piers Corbyn, from long-range forecasters WeatherAction, said: "The winds from Siberia are going to make it extremely cold - like the conditions we experienced in January 1987 where it was -12C (10.4F) in the south.

"The average temperature for January as a whole will be close to freezing - 0.8C (33.4F) at best."

He added that temperatures could plummet to -17C (1.4F) in the Midlands.

The Highways Agency seem in agreement, having put hundreds of gritting vehicles on standby across the country.

But Stephen Davenport, senior meteorologist at MeteoGroup, the weather division of the Press Association, said: "Apocalyptic predictions verging on prophecies of a new Ice Age need to be put into perspective.

"There is no doubt at all that it will feel bitterly cold, especially on Thursday and particularly in the eastern half of Britain.

"Strong, raw winds from the east will bring a significant wind-chill and showers of sleet and snow. In the middle of winter such conditions are hardly unknown though, and in fact could be far, far worse. Indeed, some people in the western half of the country might be left wondering what all the fuss is about.

"By the weekend this brief freeze will have disappeared, as milder and occasionally wet and windy weather blasts in from the west.

"That will put winter on hold again for most areas until at least the middle of next week, although snow is possible for a time in the North on Sunday and Monday."