SHAP had the coldest overnight temperature in the UK last night when temperatures dropped to a chilly -7.6C.

A Met Office spokeswoman said: "Last night was a cold night all round. It's not unusual as it is still winter but it perhaps came as a shock to people in Cumbria."

Other cold places that recorded low temperatures on the same night were Eskdalemuir in the Scottish Borders. The temperature there dropped to -6.6C.

The spokeswoman added: "On the same corresponding day last year the temperature was 0.9C, which is considerably warmer.

"The mean minimum temperature for Cumbria in February is 0.42C."

People in the Carlisle area woke to a dusting of snow yesterday morning which hadn't been forecast.

The spokeswoman said: "It is difficult to predict where snow might fall at this time of year."