sleet

And so, on a black Christmas night, with sleet volleying into their faces, columns of men struggled through some of the most inhospitable fields to ever yield up a victory.

With a frost expected, areas where showers or rain and sleet have left the ground damp are at risk of ice becoming a hazard on roads and pavements.

An area of rain, sleet and snow moved across the UK overnight into Wednesday morning, leading to some icy patches and some areas waking up to a covering of snow.

The rain mixed with sleet that felt like needles against the skin, and the troika had to go slowly over the muddy roads, which were beginning to freeze.

Scattered showers of rain, sleet and snow are expected overnight into Tuesday, with an ice alert already in place for the north and east Highlands until 10:00.