Are we really in May? Britain hit by SNOW as 65mph winds sweep across the country and a month's worth of rain falls in just 24 hours

• Up to 2in snow reported in Princetown, Devon, and Rhayader, Powys
• And 3in snow fell on high ground in Shropshire near Welsh border
• Month's rain in 24 hours to 7am today in Pembrey, Carmarthenshire
• Slates come off roofs and trees block roads in Devon and Cornwall
• Today and tomorrow will see mixture of sunshine and showers in UK
• England and Wales will be mainly dry on Saturday but wet on Sunday

By MARK DUELL

It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas - so it's rather odd that we find ourselves in mid-May.

Snow fell across parts of Britain last night while another area had a month’s rain in just 24 hours as winds of up to 65mph battered the country’s coastlines in unusual weather for the month.

Up to 3in of snow fell in Princetown in Dartmoor, Devon, Rhayader in Powys, and Newcastle-on-Clun in Shropshire - while Pembrey, Carmarthenshire, had 3in of rain in the 24 hours until 7am today.

Did you see snow last night? Please send photos to: mailonlinepictures@dailymail.co.uk

Flurries: Mark Shackleton works at the Dartmoor Brewery in Princetown, Devon - the highest brewery in the British Isles, which is around 1,450ft above sea level, and took some photos of the snow falling last night

Unusual scene: Mr Shackleton said he had only previously seen snow in Princetown, Devon, in the 1990s

Christmas scenes: Unseasonal snowy scenes greeted people waking up in Newcastle-on-Clun, Shrospshire

Covered: Residents in the Shropshire village of Newcastle-on-Clun couldn't believe their eyes when they awoke

Picturesque: The scene near the village of Newcastle-on-Clun, Shropshire, which greeted shocked resident Polly Smith as she awoke to about 2in of snow

Mark Shackleton works at the Dartmoor Brewery in Princetown - the highest brewery in the British Isles, which is around 1,450ft above sea level - and took some photos of the snow falling last night.

He told MailOnline: ‘I've been in the area on and off all my life. It snows quite often in April. May, I've ever only known it once in the 1990s, but it didn't really settle.  

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‘Last night it actually came quite bad for an hour, then turned a little milder when I went to bed. We had about 2in - this morning it had all gone. The temperatures were very low yesterday.’

Local woman Sheila Coates told BBC Radio Devon: 'It's crazy. Last night I couldn't see out of my front window for the snow. I've lived here all my life and I've never known weather like it at this time of year.'

Tough conditions: Snow blizzards fall across the Pennines in Cumbria today, forcing ramblers to wrap up warm

Difficult for drivers: Snow blizzards fall across the Pennines in Cumbria, covering vehicles and roads in snow

Cold grip: A snowball is held in the Pennines in Cumbria after an unusual amount of snow fell for mid-May

Hard work: A cyclist pushes their bicycle up a hill in the Pennines in Cumbria amid snow blizzards

Up to 3in of snow also fell on high ground in the rural county of Shropshire last night - sparking fears of flooding in the rest of the region, as two local rivers were given flood warnings.

Mike Steedman, owner of the Anchor Inn in the hills above Newcastle-on-Clun, near the Welsh border, said. ‘It started at about 11pm and it came in wet and heavy. It's beginning to go now.

BANK HOLIDAY SNOW: ODDS CUT

The odds of snow falling across the Bank Holiday weekend were today slashed.

It is now odds-on with Ladbrokes at 5/6 - from 4/1 - that any major UK city sees a sprinkling of snow over the Spring Bank Holiday weekend.

There are even shorter odds on offer for London to face a dusting between now and the end of the month, at 4/6. There is also an 8/1 chance that this month is the coldest ever May.

‘It had settled to about 2in. No sign of penguins or polar bears here yet though. We're 1,300ft up in the hills on the border, so it's not the same weather as down in Newcastle-on-Clun.’

And ramblers and cyclists got more than they bargained for when snow lashed the Pennines in Cumbria as sunny May weather suddenly turned into something you would expect in January.

The southern coast was hit hardest last night with police in Devon and Cornwall reporting slates coming off roofs and trees blocking roads, as rain lashed across much of the country.

In Devon and Cornwall hundreds of homes were left without electricity. Residents were also bracing themselves for floods - with 14 separate alerts in place across the two counties.

The Isles of Scilly bore the brunt of the Atlantic gales but freak snow flurries were reported in Exmoor and Dartmoor, where residents said the conditions were more like mid-winter than May.

Slippery surfaces: A car is covered in a layer of snow after blizzards fell across the Pennines in Cumbria

Making their way: Ramblers tried their best to battle through the snow in the Pennines in Cumbria

Strange for May: Snow fell in two parts of Britain last night, including Princetown in Dartmoor, Devon

Downfall: These unseasonal scenes were witnessed as up to 2in of snow was reported in Princetown, Devon

A deep low pressure system also brought gusty winds, but these were expected to ease off today.

'It snows quite often in April. May, I've ever only known it once in the 1990s'

Mark Shackleton in Princetown, Devon

Met Office forecaster Helen Chivers said: ‘The low pressure system that brought us rain yesterday is still hanging around over North-East England but it'll continue to move away over the rest of the day.

‘Most of us today and tomorrow can expect sunshine and showers,’ she told MailOnline. ‘There probably won't be many of them, so there's a good chance to enjoy some sunshine over the next few days.

‘But where you do get a shower it's likely to be heavy. It’s going to be cold overnight tonight as well, but the showers will die out as we go into the night.

Forecast: A deep low pressure system has brought gusty winds, but these were expected to ease off today

Looking out: A bleak day on the seaside at Porthcawl in south Wales as winds of up to 65mph battered British coastlines during the night resulting in trees blown down, in what was unusual weather for May

Beside the seaside: Conditions were bracing at Porthcawl in south Wales following strong winds in the area

It's not all bad: Forager Loren Materaacki was engulfed by wild garlic on Monday in Sixpenny Handley, Dorset

‘We'll see temperatures in the countryside down to 2C or 3C, and a possible touch of air frost in local spots in the Midlands into Wales.

'Where you do get a shower it's likely to be heavy. It’s going to be cold overnight tonight as well'

Helen Chivers, Met Office

‘Scotland looks like having a pretty wet weekend - very wet on the eastern side. In England and Wales Saturday may not be too bad a day - it should be a good deal of dry weather.

‘But on Sunday it looks like we'll find some rain pushing across the South as well.’

Inspector Tom Cunningham from Devon and Cornwall Police said ‘a number of trees’ came down during the night, as well as slates coming off roofs. He also reported BT lines down.