A MOTORIST escaped unhurt when his car was involved in a collision with two lorries on the icy A19 in North Yorkshire today.

Police said both lorries jack-knifed on the A19 northbound, near Thirsk, then were in collision with the Toyota car. The car driver, a man from Cleveland, was uninjured.

The road was temporarily closed after the 6am crash, but there were no serious traffic problems.

In a separate incident at about 4.40am today, a car transporter slid on ice and temporarily blocked the A684 at Ellerbeck, near Northallerton.

Britain woke up today to bitterly cold temperatures and heavy snow showers, as the big freeze continued to keep an icy grip on the country.

Forecasters predicted the east of the UK would suffer the worst of the weather over the weekend, with some coastal areas warned to expect snowfalls of up to 10cm.

PA WeatherCentre forecaster Daniel Adamson said: "So far Wales and the west of Britain have had the brunt of the snow and the lowest temperatures, but over the weekend it's going to be the east's turn to suffer.

"East Anglia and the South East will experience snow showers and temperatures could dip to as low as -4C at night in the region.

"London could also see some snow. By Sunday, we should see the last of the snow but the weather will continue to be cold but dry."

"Driving conditions could be hazardous, and on the Norfolk coast we could see snow falls of up to 10cm."

Yesterday, Spadeadam in Cumbria recorded the country's lowest recorded temperature of -1.6C (35F). Plymouth, Devon, enjoyed the highest temperature at 4.9C (41F).

Updated: 09:40 Saturday, February 28, 2004