East Kent is bracing itself for another large helping of snow later today.

Snow has fallen heavily overnight in western parts of the county - Tunbridge Wells has had five inches - but the east has escaped with relatively light flurries.

However, weather forecasters are predicting more light snow throughout the day in east Kent but heavy falls this evening.

Met Office forecaster George Goodfellow said: "There's been a mixed bag of snowfall over Kent overnight. There's been reports of an inch or two of snow in the west but in the east it's okay, with maybe the odd light outbreak of snow."

The outlook offers no immediate relief, with more heavy snow expected tomorrow and at the weekend, although Friday may provide rare spells of sunshine.

Meanwhile, Southeastern announced yesterday it would run an emergency timetable from this morning come what may.

It is expected the revised timetable will remain in place until the end of the week.

The only trains operating as normal are on the high speed lines and any Southeastern ticket-holders will be able to travel on them at no extra charge during the bad spell.

Speaking on Tuesday, a spokesman explained that even if snow did not arrive until Wednesday afternoon, Southeastern would be left having brought hundreds of thousands of people into central London and unable to take them home again.

In a statement, Southeastern said: "To help ensure we are able to run the best service possible in these weather conditions, Southeastern is implementing a revised timetable which will provide a reduced service across the Mainline and Metro networks. This will mean a limited number of trains arriving into London before 0900.

"All high speed services will run as per the normal timetable. However the revised timetable may still be subject to possible disruption due to the weather conditions."

Passengers who are registered at the Southeastern website are being advised by email and text alerts. Posters will be on display at stations. Extra staff will also be on hand at many stations to help passengers.

To check the timetable before you travel, log on to National Rail's website or call 08457 484950.