Experts predict that snow in the UK may be a thing of the past in decades to come, because of global warming.

But a casual walk down a snowy Memory Lane will reveal that Ledbury is no stranger to heavy blizzards, even in December and the countdown to Christmas.

In fact, what was heaviest snowfall in four years hit the Ledbury area on Sunday, December 10, 2017, with disruption rumbling on into Monday, leading to school closures, as severe weather warnings remained in place.

Officially, an average of 17cm of snow fell on Herefordshire in Sunday, but deeper snow was observed and reported in places.

The seasonal weather did not bring all doom and gloom, however, as snowmen appeared quickly on Ledbury’s Recreation Ground and elsewhere and, despite blizzard conditions, a number of local people decided on a Sunday morning stroll, to take in the sights.

Keen photographer Chris Loten even braved deep snow in Knapp Lane to take an iconic image of power lines being repaired.

The snowfall had been predicted by weatherman, and the developing situation was logged by the Reporter at the time, although the sheer scale of the winter blizzard caught many by surprise.

The first flakes fell shortly before 4am on Sunday morning, giving only a light dusting at first; but by 6am the snow was settling well and heavy snowfall continued throughout the day.

By December 11 there were multiple school closures.

But the snow of 2017 did not remain on the ground until Christmas Day, sadly.

The last official white Christmas in Ledbury was a decade ago, in 2010, when snow lay crisp for the big day.

The winter of 2009 was also an exceptionally cold one, with a number of snow flurries recorded close to Christmas Day, but not on the Big Day itself.

But very wintry conditions arrived in the New Year of 2009, as recorded by keen weather watcher, the late Norman Selkirk who, for many years, was the Reporter's esteemed weather expert.

He said at the time: "The past winter has turned out to be statistically overall the coldest since the winters of 1978/79 and 1981/82. However, two prolonged separate spells of severe cold and heavy snowfalls occurred in December 1981 and again in January 1982 during which the depth of snowfall in Ledbury, and the record breaking low temperatures at that time actually exceeded those we experienced recently, but in my own personal weather records going back to January 1993 this past winter (2009/2010) has certainly been the coldest and the snowiest.

"This time round the cold conditions began to set in a week before Christmas when heavy night frosts wee followed by cold days with maximum temperatures well below normal; on some days the thermometer barely rose above feeezing point."

At the time of going to press, the Met Office isn't quite ruling a white Christmas out, although it seems unlikely on lower ground.

And the odds from Coral, which has a branch in Bye Street? At the time going to press, we were quoted 4/1.