THE REGION has been told to brace itself for a old snap expected to last several days.

The Met Office has tonight (Sunday, December 2) issued a warning of snow, with up to 3cm expected to accumulate on lower ground and 5cm on higher ground in the North-East and North Yorkshire.

The North York Moors, Pennines and the Yorkshire Dales are likely to be amongst the worst hit, with up to 15cm possible.

The cold weather has prompted a flurry of bets on a white Christmas, according to bookmakers Ladbrokes.

On Saturday night temperatures fell below freezing to -6C in many parts of Britain and light snowfall was reported in Teesside and County Durham.

With the worst of the flooding over, only five flood warnings remained on rivers in North Yorkshire today (Sunday, December 2) which included the River Derwent at Old Malton, the River Ouse at Acaster Malbis near York, the River Derwent at Stamford Bridge and Buttercrambe and the River Ouse at Naburn Lock, Ouse.

River levels at all the locations were dropping.

Several town centre roads were still closed in Malton and pumps were still in place to clear streets and properties of flood water.

County Bridge, which spans the River Derwent between Malton and Norton, is expected to remain closed until engineers have carried out a full structural inspection.

Ryedale District Council is now on-hand to provide clean-up packs to those affected by flood water.

The council is also offering to help to remove waste and offer health advice.

In Whitby, the painstaking process of dismantling five cottages left hanging over a sheer drop began on Saturday morning.

The cottages on Aelfleda Terrace were left in danger of collapse after heavy rain resulted in the home’s gardens and patios sliding 30ft downhill.

The cottages have to be pulled apart by hand by contractors working from a cherry picker. The unstable site is just a few hundred yards from English Heritage’s Whitby Abbey, overlooking the harbour.

Work on the demolition was due to begin on Friday, but had to be put back when further ground movement was detected.