A COLD weather alert has been issued for the whole of Britain by the Met Office.

The drop in temperatures, dubbed the Beast from the East, is being caused by cold air sweeping in from Siberia.

The Met Office said there is an 80 per cent probability of severe cold weather/icy conditions/heavy snow between 9am on Friday and 12pm on Monday in parts of England.

It has issued a Level Two ‘alert and readiness’ warning which is triggered by the Met Office as soon as the risk is 60% or above for any of the thresholds to be breached.

The Met Office said: “This weather could increase the health risks to vulnerable patients and disrupt the delivery of services. Please refer to the national Cold Weather Plan and your Trust's emergency plan for appropriate preventive action.

“As the weekend approaches, average temperatures are likely to fall bringing a likelihood of meeting low temperature criteria across all regions. This with mainly fine and dry weather initially until Sunday, where snow showers will become more likely. The cold continental east or southeasterly wind will also become a factor, strengthening enough to give significant wind chill.

“The alert is likely to be reviewed on Friday, and perhaps upgraded and extended further into the new week as the cold weather looks likely to continue.”

According to the Met Office, by Saturday morning it will feel no warmer than minus 7C.