A "danger to life" warning has been issued for Scotland as the country braces itself for heavy snow and ice.

Forecasters have issued warnings for blizzards, freezing rain and black ice which are expected to cause travel chaos and power cuts.

Today the Met Office upgraded its warnings of snow and ice from yellow to amber.

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It comes as heavy snow is expected hit inland Aberdeenshire, Perthshire, northern Stirlingshire and the southern Highlands over Saturday and Sunday.

A spokeswoman for the Met Office said: "At the moment it looks like in the days leading up to Christmas it's likely to be unsettled with Atlantic weather systems affecting the country, bringing rain and strong winds.

"There will be quite severe weather tomorrow.

"It could have some impact on people's plans this weekend. Freezing rain is not that common in this country, so that could bring quite treacherous driving conditions."