High winds, snow and freezing rain have hit parts of the UK as Storm Deirdre swept in, bringing travel disruption and power cuts.

The Met Office said up to 50cm of snow fell in the Scottish highlands and wind gusts reached 70mph on the Welsh coast.

Multiple crashes because of icy conditions were reported by police overnight on Saturday and hundreds of homes lost power in Scotland and Wales.

The Met Office said the freezing rain had mostly cleared, but ice was likely.

It warned that melting snow and rain due on Monday could create a risk of "localised flooding".

A yellow warning for snow and ice for Scotland and northern England is in force until 09:00 on Sunday, while a yellow warning for wind for the Highlands and Eilean Siar and Orkney and Shetland lasts until 12:00.

A number of police forces - in Devon, Cheshire, Cambridgeshire, Norfolk, South Yorkshire and Merseyside - all tweeted to say they were responding to traffic collisions or incidents of fallen trees.

Several crashes were reported between junctions 15 and 17 of the M74 in southern Scotland.

Police in Dumfries tweeted that multiple vehicles had crashed, adding: "It appears the freezing rain may have arrived on the motorway."

Traffic Scotland said heavy snow was causing delays on the A9 between Perth and Aviemore and the A84 was said to be "impassable" north of Callander.

In the Moray area, 1,200 homes lost power due to high winds. SP Energy Networks also reported power cuts in postcodes in Haddington, Dunbar, Kelso and Jedburgh.

In Wales, several hundred properties - mostly in Pembrokeshire - were affected by power outages on Saturday.

Footage from Manchester Airport posted on YouTube showed planes aborting landings due to strong crosswinds.

Met Office meteorologist Simon Partridge said the majority of rain and snow had cleared into the North Sea on Saturday evening.

"We've had a number of roads that have been closed due to ice and blocked by vehicles that have slid out of control," he said.

He said cold temperatures meant ice patches would remain on Sunday but people could expect "milder conditions".