The white stuff has arrived and apparently there is more on the way.

Some areas of North Somerset saw three to four inches of snow during the early hours of Friday, with Portishead, Clevedon and other coastal areas being worst hit.

Rubbish and recycling collections were suspended today due to the artic conditions.

Contractors were forced to down tools after it was decided it was too dangerous because of snow and ice on the roads to get the large trucks through.

Homeowners are being advised to leave their rubbish and recycling out as normal, with contractors pledging to resume collections as soon as possible.

A number of schools across the district also closed for the day while others chose to close early.

Other schools across the district managed to stay open, calling staff in early to clear pathways and grit public areas to ensure their sites were safe.

North Somerset Council spokesman, said: "Individual headteachers make a decision to close a school based on the safety of pupils on the school site and whether they can get home safely if conditions deteriorate."

Council services, such as libraries and the town hall were operating normally today, although the mobile library service was cancelled due to the poor road conditions.

The authority's team of gritters has also been working around the clock to keep the district's roads safe.

The fleet of six gritters carried out two full salts of the roads - covering 200 miles of the road network - last night as forecasters predicted wintry conditions would hit the area.

The gritters were also out this morning, treating roads. The vehicles were fitted with special snow ploughs to clear areas of heavy snow falls.

Gritters are also expected to carry out a full salt of the road network tonight following predictions more wintry weather is to come.

Mr Turner added: "We are reviewing the situation on an hourly basis and the gritters will be sent out as and when is necessary.