Many car insurance customers in Northern Ireland and the wider UK have been looking to invest in a "snow mobile" during the cold spell, it has emerged. Figures from Money Supermarket highlight a rise in motorists looking to buy car insurance for a 4×4 vehicle since the snow started falling.

According to the comparison site's analysis of over one million car insurance searches, the five days since 5 January have seen searches for 4×4 motor insurance increase by 42 per cent on the same period in December. By last Thursday (7 January) car insurance searches on 4×4 models had peaked, with over three per cent of all car insurance searches on 8 January being for such a vehicle.

Steve Sweeney, head of car insurance at the site, suggests it's down to many car insurance customers in Northern Ireland and elsewhere in the UK concluding their cars simply can't cope with such extreme weather conditions.

However, he concludes, the advice when severe snow and ice cause unpredictable driving conditions is generally to stay off the roads entirely: "Having a more able vehicle for driving in the snow is not a guarantee that your journey would be any safer or less eventful."