New snow and ice warning for Scotland issued

More than 30 Aberdeenshire schools were closed again, along with around 20 in the Highland region and a further nine in Moray.

Aberdeenshire Council said school closures were mostly due to concern over transport for pupils and teachers.

A spokesperson for the local authority said the long-term forecast suggested disruption could last throughout the week.

They added: "Today, some areas of Aberdeenshire have seen significant and rapid snow showers – posing some extremely challenging conditions for road users and, of course, our services.

"While the Met Office yellow weather warning for snow and ice remains in place across Aberdeenshire until lunchtime tomorrow, our own long-term forecast indicates the snow and icy conditions are likely to last all week which may cause further difficult driving conditions.

"We're also expecting very icy overnight conditions with road surface temperatures falling well below zero with further snow showers moving in across the network."

The spokesperson said the council wanted to thank road crews and service staff for their work on the roads, along with local farmers and contractors who have helped.

On Monday, more than 80 schools throughout the north east were unable to open at all.

In Dumfries & Galloway one of the area's largest schools, Stranraer Academy, was forced to close due to a "heating failure".