Odds on White Christmas slashed as North set to freeze

British bookmakers, William Hill, is offering odds of 5/2 that there will be a White Christmas in Northern Ireland - specifically Belfast International Airport.

Along with Aberdeen, Glasgow and Edinburgh, Belfast is joint favourite to see snowfall on Christmas Day 2017.

Some bookmakers were offering odds of 5/1 for a White Christmas in the North as recently as last week.

The most recent White Christmas was in 2010 when snow covered much of the North, Scotland, parts of Wales, the Midlands, north-east and far south-west England.

Temperatures are forecast to dip midway through December, according to the Met Office.

Some bookmakers will regard this as a sign that a White Christmas is more likely and this will be reflected in the odds on offer.

Forecasting the weather from mid December right through to the end of the same month the Met Office said there was a real chance snow could fall on lower ground.

"High pressure is more likely to dominate to the north and west of the UK, which will give us mainly dry and cold conditions, with a mix of sunshine and showers," wrote the Met Office on its official website.

"The showers are likely to fall as sleet or snow even to low levels at times. Temperatures are set to be cold, with widespread frosts overnight."