TEMPERATURES plummeted to their coldest level in five years on Tuesday.

Residents awoke to stinging cold as sub-zero conditions hit, following Sunday's heavy snowfall.

The Met Office has revealed it recorded a reading of -9.3 degrees Celsius at its Benson station this morning.

It confirmed this is the lowest temperature recorded in the spot since February 2012, when a reading of -12.5 was taken.

Neighbouring stations recorded lows of -5.5 at Brize Norton, -4.3 in High Wycombe -4.3 and -3.9 in Reading.

The coldest temperature in England was Shawbury in Shropshire, which chilled to -13 degrees Celsius. 

Thames Valley Police officers clocked some of Oxfordshire's coldest temperatures near Bicester.

The River Thames near Osney Mead froze over during the night, and ice even managed to creep inside buses.

Emergency services have warned people to stay safe and wrap up warm, and the Met Office has issued a yellow warning for ice for Oxfordshire.

This is due to be lifted at 11am today.

Sheet ice on the roads prompted police to circulate tips on safe driving in such conditions.

The force reported a crash on the A40 near Witney on Tuesday morning, when a car 'slid' into a ditch, but South Central Ambulance Service said it was not called out to deal with the incident  - suggesting no-one was injured.

Power company SSE also logged a power cut affecting the OX12 area in and around Wantage, affecting 79 postcodes.

There were also delays on the trains, meaning some passengers were instead transported via bus. 

At 11am Great Western Railway reported delays of up to one hour between Oxford and Worcester Shrub Hill, due to a broken-down train, which has since been cleared. 

Residents in West Oxfordshire are also experiencing disruption, as the district council will not be collecting bins today.

Oxford City Council has also informed residents about bin collection cancellations, and hoped these would resume on Wednesday.

Though many schools in the county remained closed, several of those opening allowed children to wrap up warm in non-uniform.

And all are due to reopen today.

Rupert Moreton, head of Cheney School in Headington, told parents: "The temperatures are set to fall dramatically. School uniform is not required today - students need to be wrapped for winter weather with appropriate footwear.

"Please remind your child(ren) to take extra care getting to school and around the school site. There is still a lot of snow on the playgrounds which will be compacted and icy.

"It is therefore not in any way acceptable to be thrown at anyone.

"I would expect most students will want to stay indoors during breaks and we will be making designated classrooms available."