Cold weather payouts for pensioners and the vulnerable reached record levels today after Britain’s deep freeze plunged temperatures as low as minus 11C. Forecasters warned that tonight will be even colder.

The Government’s bill will rise over £100 million as Londoners become eligible for the payment for the first time since the scheme was introduced a decade ago.

This morning, the thermometer reached minus 10C in Farnborough, Hampshire and minus 11C in parts of Scotland, which is colder than areas of Greenland and the Antarctic. The Met Office said it expected temperatures to go another degree colder tonight.

The bitter cold has left pavements coated in ice and driving conditions treacherous across the country. Thousands of motorists were left stranded in the busiest day of breakdowns in five years yesterday. The AA and RAC said they had responded to more than 40,000 call-outs over the past 36 hours.

The weather will be good news for some people as more than four million vulnerable people are now eligible for a £25 cold weather payout. The payment is triggered when the average temperature in a district remains below zero for seven days.

The cold weather payment, which goes to pensioners, severely disabled people and families on benefits with a young or severely disabled child, was trebled this year from £8.50.

James Purnell, Work and Pensions Secretary, said: “We don’t want people to worry about turning up their heating when it’s cold.”

A £15 million payout now expected for people in London comes on top of 3.7 million payments totalling £93 million already triggered this winter at 48 of the country’s 76 weather stations, from Bedford in south-east England to Aviemore in the Scottish Highlands.

As the cold snap continues to bite, icy conditions have lead to a surge in car accidents all over Britain.

Moira Koune, 30, from Spalding, Lincolnshire, died yesterday when her car was struck by a train after she skidded on ice and became trapped on rails at a level crossing near her home.

The teaching assistant tried desperately to escape but the barriers came down and a police spokesman said the frozen conditions did not allow her to drive away.

The largest increase of breakdowns were recorded in the Bristol, Bournemouth, London and Birmingham areas. An RAC spokeswoman said: “It’s been our busiest day in five years.”

Among the victims of perilous driving conditions was a female cyclist who sustained serious injuries when she was run over by a Land Rover which skidded on ice in Clevedon, Somerset.

In Dorset, a man escaped injury after his BMW 325 convertible spun off the road and hit a telegraph pole near Bournemouth International Airport. In Devon and Cornwall, police warned drivers to delay journeys after seven crashes this morning including two multi-car collisions.

The Met Office issued a severe weather warning for London and east and south-east England as gritters were deployed across the country.

Temperatures reached minus 11C in Aboyne in north-east Scotland and Shap in Cumbria in the early hours of this morning. A spokesman for MeteoGroup said many parts of England remained below freezing until noon. “The situation could remain largely the same until Sunday,” he added. “We have not seen such a cold start to the year in some time.”

The cold snap also caused havoc for homes and businesses which suffered frozen pipes. Many schools have been forced to send their pupils home.

Bourton-on-the-Water Primary School, in Gloucestershire, suffered when water from burst pipes flooded a classroom and caused the staff room ceiling to collapse.

In Carmarthen County, West Wales, the local council closed Tregib Secondary School, Ysgol Gyfun Bro Myrddin and Queen Elizabeth High School due to “inclement weather”.

A number of schools in Berkshire were forced to ask pupils to stay at home as the freezing temperatures caused heating problems.