Short odds on White Christmas

Falling temperatures, snow showers and icy winds will envelop the country this week, prompting bookmakers to shorten the odds on a White Christmas.

After an unseasonally mild start to the winter temperatures for the next week are likely to struggling to rise much above freezing point as Arctic weather sweeps in.

Mediterranean resorts were hit by snow storms at the weekend with sledging near Barcelona, snow in Venice and thousands cut off by snowdrifts in Corsica. Provence and the Cote D'Azur were hit by snow. In Poland, 129 people are reported to have died as temperatures dropped to minus 25C.

The coldest temperature in England yesterday was 2C in Dunkeswell, Devon, while in London it was 5.6C, at least three degrees colder than the average for this time of year.

Peter Stewart, national forecaster at the Met Office, said: "It is colder than the average and it is going to get a bit colder before it warms up, but it won't get any warmer this week." The cold has produced a sudden increase in betting on snow falling at Christmas, prompting bookies to shorten the odds from 3/1 to 5/2.

A William Hill spokesman said: "Punters have staked bets of up to £1,500 on a White Christmas this year and it would take only one flake during the entire 24 hours of 25 December for us to pay out £100,000 or more."

However, forecasters refused to be drawn on whether there was an increased chance of snowfall on Christmas Day.

Mr Stewart said: " Christmas is still quite a long way away. I would personally hesitate in becoming too involved in placing bets on a White Christmas at this stage."

The cold snap has come as a shock following a very mild autumn. It was the warmest October since records began in 1659, with an average temperature of 13.5c. In late November, there were temperatures exceeding 16c along the South Coast.

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