More than 70 flights to or from Heathrow Airport on Saturday have been cancelled ahead of the expected blast of snow and ice hitting the UK.

Most of the cancellations were on short-haul routes, although British Airways services to New York and Chicago were among those affected.

A spokesman for the carrier said: "Poor weather conditions are forecast across parts of the UK across the weekend, so we have merged a small number of flights travelling to or from Heathrow Airport.

"During cold weather conditions aircraft have to be de-iced prior to departure to ensure that they are safe and additional measures are taken to ensure the safety of our operation is maintained at all times."

BA passengers due to fly to or from Heathrow, Gatwick or London City this weekend are able to re-book on any flight up to Wednesday free of charge.

Lufthansa, Aer Lingus, TAP Air Portugal and KLM were among the other airlines with Heathrow flights cancelled.

A spokeswoman for the airport said: "While this weekend's weather may result in minor delays and some airlines consolidating flights, significant disruption at Heathrow is not currently expected.

"We are working closely with our on-site Met Office to monitor the further snowfall expected throughout the weekend.

"As always, we advise passengers to check their flight status with their airline before coming to the airport."

Drivers are being urged to be prepared before setting out on journeys this weekend.

Network Rail, which is responsible for Britain's rail tracks, is running empty trains to help keep the network clear of snow.

It is also carrying out checks on heating systems designed to avoid sections of track from freezing.