Snowfalls of up to foot across south London were bringing further disruption, with more traffic chaos, most schools still being shut and hospitals turning patients away.

All schools in Surrey, Merton, Epsom, Kingston and Lambeth and most schools in Croydon, Richmond, Sutton and Hounslow were being closed for a second day.

Hospitals including Epsom and St Helier University Hospitals NHS Trust have suspended planned surgery and outpatient appointments due to limited staff being able to reach their work places.

By early morning the south London tram network remained suspended on all routes, except between Wandle Park and Wimbledon.

Most London buses were resuming to a full service on Tuesday, but Transport for London (TfL) warned that some may still have to be withdrawn due to “adverse weather and dangerous road conditions”.

On the Underground, the Circle line was suspended in full and the Bakerloo and District lines in part. However, the rest of the network was back to normal by the morning rush hour.

Southern Railway and South West Trains were running limited services on Tuesday, but there were still no trains on many routes.

The Heathrow Express has resumed a normal service.

Network Rail said de-icing trains and ice breakers had been spraying heated anti-freeze, while trains fitted with snow ploughs helped to clear the snow.

City Airport has reopened, but flights were “subject to delay or cancellation”, its website stated.

More delays were also expected at Heathrow and Gatwick. Heathrow cancelled nearly 800 flights on Monday and many more were delayed.

Drivers were warned of ice on the roads and advised to make only essential journeys. Due to snow lanes were still closed on some A-roads including the A3.

Epsom had the deepest snow across the whole of Britain, with 12 inches (31cm) measured in some places.

Depths of 11 inches (28cm) were measured elsewhere in south London, the Met Office said.

It was Britain’s heaviest snow in 18 years. The last time the country saw such heavy snowfalls was in 1991, when central London had 15cm of snow.

"As well as the snow it will be extremely icy by Tuesday morning,” said Helen Chivers, spokesman for the Met Office.

“With these conditions our advice to people is that if their journey isn’t essential then don’t venture out."

Light snow showers were predicted for Tuesday afternoon, but sunny spells and temperatures of up to 3°C were expected to melt the snow.

London Mayor Boris Johnson admitted the capital was not equipped to cope with snowfalls as heavy as those seen on Monday.

"This is the kind of snow we haven't seen in London in decades. We don't have the snow-ploughs that we would otherwise need to be sure of getting the roads free," he said.

However, he added that a major investment in snowploughs would not make sense if they were used only once in two decades.

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