It's snow joke!

In the wake of the snowy conditions up and down the country, the Environment Agency have suggested that people should build snowmen to prevent flooding when everything starts to melt.

The unusual advice comes as weather experts predict a sudden thaw causing torrential rain and melting snow when temperatures swing from -13C to 13C over the weekend. This has lead to the Agency claiming that the public could help the situation by building snowmen in their gardens and driveways.

Spokesman Roy Stokes said the compacted snow and ice in snowmen will melt more slowly than snow on the ground, meaning there is less surface water come the time of a thaw. "Ideally if everybody built themselves a snowman that will slow the thaw down a bit. If you notice when people clear their drive the snow thaws away but the compacted piles stay which will give a balanced thaw, which would be helpful. We would rather it be a gradual thaw as if it does go too quick we are likely to see a few flood alerts. If you are at risk of flooding make sure you have got all your planning in place."

The Agency have since issued a further statement that the comments were intended as a joke. "While building snowmen is great fun, sadly it is unlikely to make a significant difference to the overall rate at which snow melts."