The Military vs The 'Beast From The East'
Picture: Business as usual for the Household Cavalry (Credit: MoD)
Heavy snow and sub-zero conditions have blighted Britain's roads, railways and airports, with delays and cancellations.
The cold snap has been nicknamed the 'Beast from the East' in the UK, with a yellow weather warning covering large swathes of the United Kingdom.
With schools closing and emergency services rescuing stranded vehicles, police across the country advised motorists to avoid driving if possible owing to poor visibility and treacherous conditions.
Watch: The military refuses to be kept down by this 'beast from the east'
The UK is experiencing what is predicted to be the coldest week of the winter season in five years with temperatures reaching almost -12°c in some areas.
However, the Armed Forces are ready as always to do their job, be it sweeping the court in Whitehall...
...keeping guard without any sign that the cold may be getting to them...
...a journey through central London...
...or a bit of practice in the cold weather for the Household Cavalry!
It is not just the UK that seeing the effects of the 'Beast from the East' - the cold weather has been called the 'Siberian Bear' in the Netherlands and the 'Snow Cannon' in Sweden.
In Italy, the Army has been drafted in to clear the streets of Rome, which usually sees only mild winters.
For forces personnel, though, battlefield exercises must continue, snow or no snow.
Troops in the north-west of England have been testing their aim during target practice, as they prepare for an exercise in Cyprus.
It is currently a sunny 18°c on the Cypriot south coast... Royal Logistic Corps personnel may want to think of those warmer climates today as they take aim in the snow...
Bugling stops for nothing, not even sub-zero temperatures! Royal Hospital School in Suffolk has seen lows of -4°c today.
How have the Royal Marines been handling the 'Beast from the East'?
Their Arctic training in Norway is known as one of the harshest combat challenges worldwide, and they do not appear to be fazed by the coldest winter in five years.
Some serious snow at RAF Scampton. Not even the Red Arrows can take off in these conditions, but they may have a point...
Better conditions in Hampshire's RAF Odiham, where personnel may consider themselves lucky to have got away with a light layer of snow, compared to their colleagues at Scampton.
The Ministry of Defence has said three battalions are ready to help councils if severe weather teams are unable to cope.
A spokesman told Forces News:
"We have the right people with the right training and the right equipment to help deal with any contingency."
The conditions have led to the closure of a runway at RAF Leeming, and will remain so until the snow thaws at the North Yorkshire base.
Staff at RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire were doing their best to keep aircraft moving as the snowy conditions continued on Friday.
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