Dorset has woken up to extremely cold temperatures and problems on the roads. Here is the latest:

* Damory are running no buses

* Travel Dorset is advising people to 'walk like penguins' and stay off the roads

* There are no services on First Wessex or South Western Railway

* Police are advising people to stay off the roads

Hundreds of train passengers heading home to Dorset were stranded in carriages overnight as the severe weather caused the rail network locally to grind to a halt.

Multiple broken down trains between Weymouth and Southampton Central led to lines becoming blocked, and none of the stations between Bournemouth and Weymouth were able to be served throughout the night.

Passengers heading home were forced to spend the night on packed carriages with little food, water and heating. 

A South Western Railway spokesperson said: "We sincerely apologise to passengers who were stranded on trains overnight. They have all been taken to Bournemouth station where South Western Railway staff are providing hot food and drinks. Hotel accommodation will be provided for those unable to travel onwards from Bournemouth.

“Our staff, together with Network Rail have battled tirelessly throughout the night to try to get trains moving in very challenging conditions, and will continue to do so throughout the day.

“We are advising passengers not to attempt to travel today, but for those who have already started their journey,  we recommend they return as soon as possible. Due to the continued extreme weather conditions,  we will be closing the train service early today.  Please check our website for the most up to date information."

There was widespread disruption on the roads and railways yesterday.

The day began with some minor routes blocked and a few trains delayed but as the weather got worse and conditions deteriorated traffic came to a standstill and rail lines were blocked.

There were cancellations and delays to services on all routes on the Weymouth-Waterloo line and a points failure led to the route being blocked on the Weymouth to Bristol line.

Earlier incidents on the rail network included snow and ice delaying train crews getting to work; a number of isolated train faults; a broken down freight train and a number of points failures.

Weymouth-Waterloo operator South Western Railway put a revised timetable in place and warned it may have to make short-notice changes to trains in order to manage delays.

It advised passengers to check before they travel and apologised for the disruption.

Meanwhile on the buses, there were a number of cancellations and route changes due to icy conditions.

By mid-afternoon First Dorset had suspended all of its bus services in the Weymouth and Portland area.

The company had warned passengers to make their way to bus stops as it started reducing services.

Rural routes, and then later main roads like the A37, started to become impassable and Portland Beach Road was said to be difficult to navigate.

The A354 between Weymouth and Dorchester was also blocked later in the afternoon.

Snowploughs were out trying to clear routes but it became more difficult as the afternoon went on.

A number of planned events have also been cancelled.

Here is the upcoming forecast.