SNOWDROPS have bloomed early across the UK as mild weather over winter has brought in an early Spring feel.

The iconic flowers have sprung up a month early having been fooled by the changeable weather that has kept Brits on their toes.

Although the last few days have seen chilly and frosty weather, the milder wetter winter months has seen some plants flower ahead of their normal schedule.

And in another bizarre phenomenon, some fascinating images show an ice sculpture created by water splashing from a puddle during freezing conditions.

Motorists whizzing past the scene splashed water onto the fence and bushes at the South Lanarkshire roadside.

The unique set of circumstances caused the icicles to grow into a fascinating display.

Although the plants may think it is nearer to Spring Brits can still expect to feel colder as wintry weather continues.

Last night temperatures dropped to a low of -9.8C in Stretthallan, Scotland.

Tonight will see the overcast and chilly conditions persist, as England and Wales gets some patchy drizzle.

The clouds will move north in the evening and bring some wind in.

This evening will be cold with widespread mist and fog across England and Wales, with temperatures falling to 3C in London and 1C in Leeds.

A Met Office spokesman said: "It will be a pretty similar picture as we wake up to a cloudy start to the day with bands of drizzle arriving.

"The wind will be picking up from the north west tomorrow but the large part of the day is staying pretty settled.

"Going through the day on Tuesday there will be a band of rain moving in.

Why can plants flower early?

Unseasonably warm and wet winters can coax some plants into flowering early in the UK.

This winter has seen warmer weather than average despite plenty of snowfall and snow.

Chief horticulturist at the Royal Horticultural Society said: "Plants are variable and tend to flower in response the weather.

"The last few months have been quite mild so a certain amount of early flowering might be expected in some regions.

However plants are quite varied in their flowering times – for example you can generally find an apple blossom or two in our orchard here at Wisley in flower at any season, although of course the main flowering time is in April.

"Also many people don’t realise that there are many winter flowering plants, so winter flowering cherries for example can mislead people into thinking spring has come early."

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"Thursday we are expecting another bright day again, a still bright day for pretty much the whole of the UK.

"Temperatures are knocking down again as we see the absence of cloud so we are looking at 7C in London and 5C in Leeds.

"Friday has another band of cloud moving in from the west before another band of rain moved in overnight and into the weekend."

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