Ice warnings issued for parts of Scotland as bad conditions cause road accidents

Fresh warnings for ice have been issued for parts of Scotland as the cold snap continues to make conditions tricky for drivers and pedestrians.

The Met Office's yellow `be aware' warning covers much of Scotland, particularly in the east, from 6pm on Saturday until 10.30am on Sunday.

It comes after people woke up to a widespread frost on Saturday morning.

And police and health officials in the east warned that recent adverse weather conditions had led to a number of road collisions and a spike in the number of injuries caused by people slipping and falling.

Police in Dumfries and Galloway have tweeted to urge people to drive with care, as they posted a picture of a gritter that had apparently come off the road on the A76 north of Sanquhar.

The new warning from the Met Office states: `Icy patches will be a hazard on some untreated roads, pavements and cycle paths. Some injuries are possible from slips and falls on icy surfaces.'

It also covers parts of northern England, the Midlands, Yorkshire and Wales.

The Met Office's chief forecaster wrote: `Any showers will die out during Saturday evening, with temperatures falling below freezing across much of the area, allowing a frost and some icy patches to develop.

`Outbreaks of rain will spread eastwards later in the night and during Sunday morning, with some of this rain possibly falling on to surfaces that will still be below freezing, thus increasing the risk of ice for a few hours.'

On Friday, the B976 Crathie to Gairnsheil road in Aberdeenshire was closed due to drifting snow.

Police in Aberdeen advised motorists to avoid driving unless it was absolutely necessary, saying the treacherous'' conditions had resulted in `multiple road traffic collisions' throughout Friday.

NHS Tayside said it has been experiencing exceptional demand in the last few days, with the widespread icy conditions across the region resulting in `a sharp increase in the number of slip and trip injuries'.

A significant number of patients have been attending the Accident and Emergency departments in Dundee and Perth with broken bones, officials said