Sub-zero temperatures gripped the country and, at its worst, the big freeze saw four inches of snowfall in just one night in February 2018 – as schools shut their doors, roads closed and trains cancelled.
Brave – a woman walks along Sandy Lane as the Beast from the East hits south Essex six years ago
While some schools showed, another in Southend went viral thanks to the pupils getting their own back on teachers during what was one of the coldest snaps in recent decades.
The students and teachers at Alleyn Court Preparatory School in Wakering Road, Southend, took to their snowed-under school field for a huge snowball fight involving close to 100 pupils and eight members of staff.
Went viral – pupils and teachers from Alleyn Court Preparatory School went head-to-head in 2018
Blast from the past – the old Esplanade pub can be seen in this shot of snow covering Southend seafront (Image: Gareth Gault)
A video – which quickly garnered more than 700,000 viewers – was posted online of the battle which saw the children hurling snowballs at their teachers.
Headteacher Nathan Linfield was also pelted by snow-loving kids at Chalkwell Hall Junior School, in London Road, Leigh.
Behind the stumps – Alleyn Court Preparatory School pupils enjoy a game of cricket in the snow
Meanwhile, the first ever British man to clinch a medal for snowboarding at the Winter Olympics celebrated his win by taking to Leigh for a new challenge.
Not content with his bronze in the big air event a matter of days earlier, Billy Morgan decided to take on the task of taming the Beast from the East.
Airborne – Billy Morgan and Paddy Graham Picture: Greg Coleman/Red Bull Content Pool
Billy swapped the slopes of South Korea for the unusually snowy hills of Leigh.
He was joined by friend Paddy Graham, one of the best free-skiers in the world, as they ventured into south Essex’s sub-zero conditions.
Relaxing in the snow – Billy Morgan and Paddy Graham Picture: Greg Coleman/Red Bull Content Pool
In 2021, Storm Darcy was branded Beast from the East II by some, but these shots show just how much snow fell back in 2018.
Snow on the beach – Thorpe Bay beach huts were covered in snow (Image: Gareth Gault) Fields of white – Hadleigh looks like a postcard in this shot by James Robertson-Milligan (Image: James Robertson-Milligan)
While south Essex is set to face freezing temperatures over the next few days, with the UK Health Security Agency issuing an amber cold-health alert for the area as the forecast is likely to cause “significant impacts” across health and social care services, it won’t quite be Beast from the East III.
The Met Office has reassured, any snow in southern and eastern parts of England, especially at low levels, will probably be “rather transient before turning back to rain”.