British homeowners should frequently seek the help of tradespersons with approved plumbing qualifications to ensure their property is best prepared for the winter weather.

This is the opinion of the Co-operative Insurance, which offered a number of tips on how to weather-proof homes faced with severe weather conditions.

According to the Met Office, heavy snowfall is expected in the Midlands and Wales in the next week, as well as low temperatures nationwide.

One of the Co-operative Insurance's pieces of advice was to "have your boiler and fire serviced by a professional".

James Hillon, functional leader of The Co-operative Insurance, commented: "Of course, accidents will always happen, so we're simply encouraging people to take the time to think about what might go wrong and what they could do to prevent it."

He added that the extreme weather has already had a big impact on Brits over the last few weeks, which highlights the importance of taking a few, simple, preventative steps.

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