Snow made a brief appearance in Alton on January 8 - but anyone predicting a white-out was way off the mark.

By early evening only slippery slush troubled those on their way to the Assembly Rooms for Alton Town Council’s latest debate about Kings Pond, although there was still a smattering of snow in front of the Cairn war memorial.

The snow survived better in areas left largely undisturbed by pedestrians, such as the Queen Elizabeth Place car park.

On the higher ground of Four Marks, things were a bit more wintry. Its welcome sign informs visitors that it sits on the Hampshire Downs, and after 9pm the pavements and verges were still white everywhere on the lengthy drive through the village on the A31.

But the frozen scene disappeared almost instantly once Four Marks had been left behind, with only green grass on view just four miles away in Ropley.