Sea freezes in the UK...

First time in more than 20 years....

Dog walkers and boat owners were startled to discover that waters around the exclusive Sandbanks peninsula which stretches out into the harbour at Poole, Dorset, were covered in ice.

A half-mile stretch along the shoreline reaching about 20 yards out to sea was frozen, and bait diggers found themselves temporarily out of work.

Scientists said the frozen water was due to a combination of its low salt content, the shallow depth, and a sustained period of sub-zero temperatures.

Charles Chapman, marina manager of Parkstone Yacht Club, on the edge of Sandbanks, said: “I have been here for more than 20 years and I cannot remember this ever happening before. The edge of the sea is frozen along the surf line.”

In Southern England, normally immune to the worst of the cold weather in winter, temperatures fell to nearly 10.4F (-12C), the lowest in England for six years.