Thousands of school pupils across the north of Scotland are off school because of snow and freezing weather. Highland Council said almost 140 schools and 100 nurseries were shut while 38 schools in Aberdeenshire and five in Shetland were closed.

More sleet, rain, snow and ice is expected with further snowfall of up to 15cm on higher ground according to forecasters.

Hundreds of schools have been closed across northern Scotland amid a weather warning for snow and ice which has been extended until Friday. The Met Office yellow weather warning covers Aberdeen, Aberdeenshire,

A yellow alert for Aberdeen, Aberdeenshire, Moray, the Highlands, Western Isles, Orkney and Shetland runs until midnight on Thursday.

It comes after forecasters said sleet, rain, snow and ice would sweep large parts of the country on Wednesday.

Snowy and icy conditions have prompted travel disruption and school closures, with temperatures far below freezing over the past week