Sussex is set to be hit with an icy blast this weekend as temperatures plummet below zero.

It could be the first frost of the season for the county, with Chichester set to hit -1C overnight on Saturday. 

The rest of the county is expected to reach 0C and the Met Office predicts "widespread overnight frosts".

With wind gusts as high as 20mph, it will feel even colder than it is. 

While it will be very cold, Saturday is set to be a clear day for Sussex, with sunny spells. 

​There will be highs of 6C in Brighton which will feel like 2C, according to the Met Office. 

The national weather service said Saturday will be the best day to make the most of the sunshine, as while it will be warmer on Sunday it will also be much cloudier. 

By Sunday afternoon and into Monday, rain is possible. 

A spokesman from the Met Office confirmed that temperatures are likely to plummet in Sussex.

He added: "Temperatures across the UK will fall over the next 24 hours as colder air moves in from the north. By Friday night there will be the first widespread frost overnight for much of the UK, including Sussex.

"This will be the first time this autumn that many places will have seen a frost. The lowest temperature so far this autumn in Sussex is 2.2C at Herstmonceux on November 11. Wiggonholt, near Pulborough, dropped to -0.7C on October 16."

Met Office Deputy Chief Forecaster Helen Caughey added: "Already there is a lot of media speculation about the prospects for snow later this week and for a white Christmas.

"While it is too early to give any indications for Christmas, some colder weather is likely for the end of the week, and into the weekend."

"There is a reasonably strong signal for lower temperatures across the UK by the weekend. But that isn’t guaranteed, and those lower temperatures don’t mean widespread snow.

"There is a 70 per cent chance that areas as far south as southern England could experience overnight frosts and a general reduction in temperature. However, there is still a 30 per cent chance that the colder conditions won’t get that far south. Any falling snow is likely to be confined to the far northeast, and hills and mountains of Scotland.”