Colder than Alaska! Britain shivers through the coldest night of the year - but it's going to be even colder tonight as temperatures plummet to -12C

A driver has died after his car skidded off an icy road and crashed into a tree this morning as Britain woke after suffering its coldest night of the year.  

Police said the man, who was at the wheel of a Land Rover Defender, was pronounced dead at the scene of the crash near Horam, East Sussex, at 7am. Emergency services, who were trying to get to the scene, were hampered by temperatures of around minus 2C and sheet ice. 

 Vast swathes of the UK were again covered in ice this morning and areas were even colder than Alaska and the Antarctica. The Met Office said the temperature last night fell to -8.8C (16.3F) in Katesbridge, County Down, a record for this year.

This compares to -8C in Alaska and -5C at the Antarctica Belgrano II research centre - 800 miles from the South Pole.

But clear skies across much of the country mean that temperatures will remain cold - with some areas seeing temperatures as low as -6C.