Britain has grappled with travel chaos as heavy snow paralysed swathes of the country and the big chill returned with a vengeance.

Motorists struggled on treacherous roads, planes were grounded and rail services cancelled on what is traditionally one of the busiest weekends of the year.

It wrecked Christmas travel arrangements and shopping expeditions for people across the country.

The icy conditions claimed at least another three lives - a girl in her early teens was killed in a sledging accident and a mother and her 10-year-old son died in a road crash.

Meanwhile, Top Gear presenter Jeremy Clarkson and socialite Jemima Khan were among those left stranded after plunging temperatures crippled the transport network.

Drivers were warned to avoid travel unless absolutely necessary as the mercury plummeted well below zero - reaching minus 15.5C in Aviemore, Scotland.

Severe weather warnings were issued for most of the country.

On the roads, hundreds of motorists were stuck after snow rendered the M6 in Greater Manchester impassable.

Broadcaster Clarkson was among those forced to abandon his car as bad weather brought vehicles to a standstill in Oxfordshire.

Though famous for tackling extreme motoring challenges, gridlock on the roads meant he had to give up on an 18-mile journey from Oxford to his own home.

The county - with Surrey and Kent - was among the worst hit by heavy snow, with falls of up to 15cms.

"It was very bad out there," he said. "I wasn't stuck but everyone around me was. I thought, 'I'm not going to get home tonight and it's going to get dark'."

Train services were also subject to problems, with operators in the south, including Southeastern, South West Trains and Southern Railway, running reduced services.

And as airports were overwhelmed by snow, Jemima Khan joined disgruntled passengers venting their irritation on the microblogging site Twitter.

She wrote: "chionophilia - an obsessive love of snow. I'm more chionophobe right now. Flight home cancelled."

British Airways cancelled all short-haul flights at Heathrow and all long-haul flights leaving the airport before 7pm. All its flights from Gatwick were pulled, with the exception of one flight to Sharm el Sheikh.

The airline and operator BAA later apologised to those who found their Christmas getaway plans in tatters.

Heathrow, Gatwick, Stansted, Luton and Birmingham airports all grounded planes for at least part of the day while staff battled to clear snow from the runways.

Passengers also faced disruption at Exeter, London City, Aberdeen, Belfast International and Cardiff airports, while Belfast City and Southampton were also closed for a time.