The Met Office has extended its snow and ice warning across Somerset and the rest of the South West.

A yellow warning for ice will be in place from 5pm today (Wednesday, January 18) until 10am tomorrow, (Thursday, January 19).

Drivers have been urged to factor in extra time for their journeys in order to move carefully along slippery roads and defrost their cars.

Snow has arrived in parts of Somerset this morning, with heavy showers confirmed in Yeovil and other parts of South Somerset.

Amid the weather warnings, rural insurer and rural road safety campaigner NFU Mutual is sharing safe driving advice for motorists.

Dave Rossall, Head of Motor Claims at NFU Mutual, said: "Driving in icy and snowy weather requires an entirely different set of skills that we rarely practice in the UK, so it's vital that motorists pay extra attention to safe driving in the next few days.

"Compacted snow, black ice and low winter sun can all combine to create a perfect storm of low visibility and reduced control of the vehicle, which is where we see a lot of accidents.

"Our advice would be to avoid driving in severe weather if it is not absolutely necessary to do so, and if you do need to drive, leave extra time for your journey and plan your route to remain on main roads as much as possible.

"You should also prepare for freezing weather, making sure you have winter-ready screen wash, de-icer, an ice scraper and sunglasses to combat low winter sun, as well as packing some spare warm clothes, a blanket, a charged phone and torch, and some water and snacks in case you do get stuck.

"While driving, take into account the dangerous conditions and adjust accordingly, leaving more space than you usually would between fellow motorists or other road users and braking and accelerating as smoothly as you can. This will reduce wheel spin or drifting, keeping you, your passengers and fellow road users safe.

"As a campaigner for rural road safety, NFU Mutual is particularly concerned that the icy weather will make our rural roads, which are already significantly more deadly than urban roads, even more treacherous. It is therefore more important than ever that road users respect their fellow road users, take their journey steadily and make sure they are slowing down well before junctions and corners."

Gritting lorries from Somerset County Council had been out ahead of the weather forecast. The council grits about a fifth of Somerset's roads - mostly the main routes through the county, and they have warned that ice can still form on gritted roads.

"Our winter service team closely monitors the forecast in advance and all roads on Somerset's precautionary gritting network are treated when temperatures are forecast to fall below zero. This is 21 per cent of the County's roads and includes all major routes," a spokesperson said.

"All main routes were gritted yesterday afternoon before temperatures dropped and there was a further gritting operation across the county the following morning.

"The recent wet weather and standing flood water on roads poses an additional hazard to drivers and significant challenges to our teams.

"It's important to remember the majority of roads aren't gritted and never have been. Ice can still form on gritted roads which is why we echo the advice of our Avon and Somerset Police colleagues to only travel when it is necessary and to proceed with extreme caution if you are using our roads."