Arctic temperatures continued to cause chaos for Britain’s transport system today with freezing fog and icy roads making journeys treacherous in some area.

Temperatures in Shropshire once again plummeted to below freezing overnight and to as low as -10C (14F) in the South East of England.

Two teenage girls were killed in a road crash in Cumbria, with police claiming treacherous road conditions appeared to be a factor in the collision.

Two pensioners also died after falling in their gardens in sub-zero temperatures while a motorist who stopped to help a stranded driver died after he was struck by another vehicle.

Though the worst of the snow has fallen, temperatures remain low for the time of year and rain is set to make Britain’s frozen roads and pavements even more dangerous.

There was set to be some brief respite from the extreme cold later today with warmer temperatures, but that will not be enough to melt the ice which is expected to be worsened by rain freezing on top.

Any thaw will “be a very slow process”, said MeteoGroup forecaster Aisling Creevey. “It’s a big, icy mess — I would be really advising caution, it is going to take time to thaw out.”

Today rail services were still struggling to find their feet after the weather caused widespread disruptions and cancellations. Major airports were operating, although many were experiencing flight delays.

The Safer Roads Partnership in West Mercia is advising motorists to pack an emergency kit in their car. It should include items such as an ice-scraper, torch, warm clothes and a blanket, a pair of boots, a first aid kit, battery jump leads, a shovel for snow, food and drink and sunglasses to help see in low winter sun. Motorists are also ad- vised to make sure their mobile phone is charged before heading off on a journey.

The arctic conditions have wreaked havoc for events in Shropshire with a festive charity fun run, which would have seen about 130 people donning antlers to run through the streets of Shrewsbury, being cancelled. The annual Reindeer Trot, a fun walk and run, raised £3,000 last year for the Lingen Davies Cancer Centre Appeal at the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital.

Louise Cliffe, fundraising officer for the charity, said: “People had pre-registered so we have been able to contact them to let them know it has been called off but people could also turn up on the day so we’re trying to get the message out to them.

“The roads are just not safe with the ice and snow. It was a really good event last year which had proved even more popular this year.”

A clairvoyant evening at the Albert Road Centre in Shrewsbury tonight has also been scrapped because of the weather.

Meanwhile, Britain has been warned by one of the country’s leading growers it could face a Christmas sprout shortage if the freezing weather continues. Chris Gedney, managing director of TH Clements & Son, said the British sprout industry would be devastated if the frost prevents it from getting its harvest out before Christmas.

He said: “If the icy weather continues it’s going to be very difficult for us to get our produce out.

“There are lots of vegetables that will be short, including Brussels sprouts.”

Sprouts are worth £54 million to the British economy but about 67 per cent are harvested in the run-up to Christmas.

The Government has urged Britons not to panic buy in the wake of fears of fuel and food shortages, with some reports predicting at least 500 forecourts would be without diesel by the end of the weekend

Environment Secretary Caroline Spelman yesterday said: “Stories about some shops having empty shelves are caused by slight disruption to the timing of supermarket deliveries, which is only to be expected in this kind of weather, but the fact remains that deliveries are happening regularly.”

Her comments came as details emerged of the first casualties.

Police said they feared 80-year-old Lillian Jenkinson had frozen to death after collapsing in her back garden in Workington, Cumbria. Her body was found at 10.40am on Thursday, the day after an elderly man was found dead in his garden in Kirby Stephen, also in Cumbria.

Meanwhile North Yorkshire Police said a 57-year-old man, who has not been named, was standing behind his Land Rover Defender when he was struck by a Land Rover Freelander.

Grace Simpson and Jessica Lakin, both 19, were killed on the A595 in Carlisle on Thursday morning, after the Peugeot 206 they were travelling in was involved in a collision with a Royal Mail box van.

A host of English and Scottish sports fixtures have been postponed. All but one fixture in the Scottish Football League are postponed while in the Premier League, Blackpool’s match with Manchester United at Bloomfield Road is off. Five matches in the Championship are also postponed and race meetings were expected to be affected.

Reports claim at least 400,000 extra families could find themselves in fuel poverty as the cold snap continues because of imminent price rises from energy companies.

Research by National Energy Action shows that by early next year 5.5 million households will be spending more than 10 per cent of their monthly income on energy bills. A spokesman for British Gas said its engineers were “working flat out” this week and are fixing almost 20,000 boilers a day, 5,000 more than usual for the time of year.

The firm has received more than 200,000 calls since last weekend — double the number expected — and has drafted in extra staff and vans. To avoid problems, people are advised to check their boilers, bleed radiators, draw their curtains and set thermostats to 21C (70F).