ScotRail has urged commuters to go home as soon as possible as it will begin shutting much of the network within the next hour.

The closure is expected to start from 3pm and will shut routes in and around Glasgow, Edinburgh, the Lothians, the Borders, Fife and Perth and Kinross

It comes after the rail operator cancelled hundreds of services around Scotland amid some of the heaviest snowfall seen in years.

The Met Office has issued a red alert for snow and urged Scots to remain indoors as an arctic blast sweeps across the country.

The forecaster said it is the first time it has issued a red snow alert in Scotland and the first anywhere in the UK since 2013.

The alert stretches across the central belt, covering Edinburgh, Glasgow and Dunfermline, while amber and yellow warnings remain in place elsewhere.

A spokesman for ScotRail said: "As a result of the Met Office warning, services in the red area will begin to wind down this afternoon in the best interests of our customers and staff.

"Safety is central to this decision.

"In areas where the red weather warning applies, customers should head for home now.

"There will be no train services in the red weather warning area tonight, or first thing tomorrow morning."

The red weather warning runs from 3pm on Wednesday until 10am on Thursday.

Nicknamed the "beast from the east", the extreme weather has brought blizzard conditions and freezing temperatures due to an arctic blast from Siberia.