Bookmaker Coral took a “record number” of white Christmas bets this weekend that saw a slew of customers take on the odds to win big.

Aberdeen had the shortest odds at bookmaker Coral with 2-1 while Birmingham and Manchester trailed at 6-1.

A white Christmas in London had odds of 8-1.

Coral spokesman Harry Aitkenhead stated: "It may be punters betting with their hearts rather than their heads but over the last few months we have taken a record number of bets on this year being a White Christmas.

"We will be paying out long into Boxing Day if snow does fall."

The Met Office have stated the chances of London flakes are “virtually nill” but have forecast the white stuff for northern parts of Britain.

Meteorologist Helen Roberts stated: “Not the most festive of starts weather-wise for Christmas morning, we see a band of rain continuing to affect parts of Northern Ireland, southern Scotland and northern England.

“Colder clearer and showery weather to the north and still cloudy and breezy to the south and it remains very mild, temperatures between 10 and 12 Celsius although again always that bit colder further north.

“Through Christmas afternoon we start to see some showers developing and some of those will be on the heavy side.

“Then as we head through Christmas evening and to the overnight period, snow makes itself known, sweeping in through parts of southern and central and perhaps eastern Scotland, so a white Christmas of sorts for some of us, if a little late in the day.

“The snow brings in colder air behind it, so its a chilly start to Boxing Day, but a bright one for many of us - there will be some showers around, those becoming increasingly frequent and widespread, sweeping in from the north through the rest of Boxing Day and then, later on, we see more persistent rain pushing in across south-west England.

“In-between, plenty of fine weather, if a little on the chilly side, a great day for getting out and having a stroll.”

Rural Scotland still has the highest chance of living the white Christmas dream, even if locals do not wake up to a blanket of snow.

The Met Office added: "It's quite likely that parts of Scotland, particularly the southern uplands and possibly the central hills above a couple of hundred metres or so will see some snow.

"It is most likely to fall through the afternoon and into the evening over Christmas Day.

"We will possibly see some snow in the hills and mountains of Wales and the north of England."