Fresh snow fell across Norfolk yesterday as bookmakers revealed they were facing a big payout if the county experiences a white Christmas.

Bookmakers William Hill were giving odds of 5-4 against snow falling at RAF Marham on Christmas Day and some branches in Norfolk could face total five figure payouts after a big response from local punters.

The snow returned to wide areas of Norfolk, including Norwich, King’s Lynn, north Norfolk and coastal areas, yesterday.

William Hill spokesman Joe Crilly said: “Obviously with Norwich and Norfolk experiencing a lot of snow, I think that’s really promoted people to get down to the betting shop and place their white Christmas wagers.”

With odds of 5-4 on a white Christmas, a �10 bet would yield a �22.50 profit if a single flake of snow drops at the RAF base in Marham on December 25.

However, forecasters at Weatherquest, based at the University of East Anglia, revealed punters may miss out on a big payout, with cold breezes and sleet showers likely to dominate the local weather scene up to Christmas Day. Temperatures will drop to a minimum -3C overnight.

Yesterday police were still advising people to keep safe and avoid venturing on to frozen lakes and ponds as the cold spell is set to continue. Police Community Support Officer Paul McAllister from the Acle Safer Neighbourhood Team said: “People should never assume that any frozen water is strong enough to hold their own weight, the ice may be thick in some place and really thin in other areas”.

Many residents in Norfolk also managed to get much needed fuel delivered to them.

Chris Trenerry, manager of Rix Petroleum Ltd in East Anglia, said: “It’s been extremely difficult with unprecedented demands due to a combination of the cold weather and Christmas both coming together.”

Most of their customer base live in the more rural areas of Norfolk and Mr Trenerry said deliveries had been taking longer than normal and customers placing orders now can expect waits up to January 10.

The better weather also gave travel services a chance to return back to normal.

On the trains National Express East Anglia resumed a normal service both on their mainland London service and local services.

First Capital Connect also resumed normal services.

East Midlands Trains confirmed that it was operating a normal timetable yesterday and a normal service is also planned for today with services expected to be busier than usual because of people travelling home for the Christmas break.

Passengers are still being advised to check live travel updates on their website for up-to-date train services before travelling.

Norwich Airport also reported that they had no problems with flight services yesterday and traffic appeared to run smoothly on Norfolk’s roads.