London faces heaviest snowfall in decades

The usual noise of peak hour traffic and the hum of the city has succumbed to a magical quiet as the British capital disappeared under a mantle of pristine powdery snow.

Huge tracts of Britain have slowed down but London is the hardest hit as the snow keeps falling. A total of 30 centimetres is expected in the next 24 hours.

East and South-east London faced the heaviest snowfall with some areas witnessing around 10-12 inches of snow. 

Central London has also been jammed as security measures for the Chinese Premier, Wen Jiabao, closed roads for his visit to Downing Street.

Both Gatwick Airport and London City Airport were closed for long periods overnight to allow the deicing of runways but delays are widespread now and many flights have been cancelled.

Transport for London warned commuters on its website that "all London buses have been withdrawn from service due to adverse weather and dangerous road conditions".

Weather forecasters said 10cm fell overnight and up to 20cm may fall in some areas, with widespread problems expected on the transport network. Up to 10cm was expected to have fallen overnight, and some of the hardest-hit areas reported up to 1ft of snow.

According to the Highways Agency, there have been too many minor dingles on the roads "to put a number on".

"We have 600 patrols out on the motorways to help drivers caught in the snow, plus another 500 gritters working through the night. It's certainly been a busy night," he told the Times .

Lanes on the M25, London's busiest motorway, are closed as are parts of major highways in the south.

On suburban and city roads, cars have slowed to a snail's pace as councils put down tonnes of salt while schools have closed their doors for the day.

Safety warnings have also been issued to people driving - if your car breaks down, the heater will not work so please wear appropriate clothing.

According to MeteoGroup, the UK weather service, snowfall would continue and even intensify during the day and while the South West has escaped the worst of the snow, 10cm in Greater London is expected over the next 24 hours, and even more than that in Yorkshire and the Pennines.