Drivers are being urged to stay at home today as roads are expected to be coated in black ice caused by the "big refreeze".

The Met Office has issued a yellow level warning for ice covering much of the South East until 11am after recording the coldest night of the year at -15.7C in Braemer, Scotland.

When snow melts and refreezes, black ice can appear on roads and pavements giving motorists a "false sense of security", warned the AA.

Some drivers have already fallen foul of the icy weather. Hardinge Road in Ashford was closed this morning after a black Peugeot 108 and a white electric-powered Volkswagen were in collision and both ended up with front end damage.

Commuters faced travel chaos yesterday morning as large parts of the UK were hit by ice, fog and snow.

Rod Dennis from the RAC said their teams were “exceptionally busy” helping more than 7,500 motorists with breakdowns - 50% more than a typical Monday in December.

Jack Cousens, head of roads policy at the AA, warned today: “After thousands of drivers suffered problems with the snow yesterday, icy roads are now creating the biggest problem.

“Our Accident Assist team has seen a 135% increase in calls for help compared to last weekend, of which the majority have wintry road conditions as a contributory factor. Similarly, our breakdown workload has increased by 25% as our patrols rescue drivers across the country."

He added: “Using main roads as much as possible will help keep the wheels turning but when driving on frozen roads, slow and steady is the only option.”

For tips on driving in the snow, click here.

National Highways said it had up to 25 gritters treating the M25 on Sunday and Monday spreading 960 tonnes of salt and more than 18,000 litres of anti-freeze.

Several railway lines experienced major disruption due to the weather including the Sittingbourne to Sheerness line.

Met Office spokesman Oli Claydon said there will be heavy snow in some places again today across the north east and northern Scotland with as much as 10-20 centimetres over high ground.