AS A fresh warning for snow and ice has been issued for Dorset by the Met Office, the Daily Echo takes a look at a post-Christmas flurry from the past.

The pictures in the gallery above show when the white stuff fell a little too late to catch Santa - they were taken around New Year in 1978.

Schools closed their gates, vehicles struggled on the roads and icicles sparkled as they cascaded from street signs and traffic lights.

As these pictures show, people slowly shuffled their way around Bournemouh while New Forest ponies attempted to adapt to their alien home.

Busses in the town struggled to operate on the ice and, in more rural areas, motorists had to abandon their cars.