WHAT a difference a couple of days can make.

As this overhead of Christchurch clearly shows, snow and ice blanketed the conurbation on Thursday and Friday.

However, yesterday - just 48 hours after the worse of the weather - residents were bidding farewell to fierce winds and sub-zero temperatures, and ushering in blue skies and a relatively balmy 11C.

As the big thaw started a few problems persisted, but nothing in comparison to the chaos of the preceding days. One minor headache yesterday was the fact many stores had run out of milk.

Tesco, one of the affected retailers, was telling customers the lack of fresh milk was due to delivery problems caused by the icy conditions.

Bournemouth resident Matt Miles said: "This is the most bizarre Sunday morning I’ve ever had. I’ve been to two Tesco’s, an Aldi and a Co-op, and none of them had any milk.

"Lots of people were trying to get milk but we’re all being told by the supermarkets that they have been unable to get the wagons in, the milk deliveries, because of the weather conditions.

"I think Bournemouth is officially out of milk."

At Tesco in Bournemouth, which was also out of milk, staff confirmed recent conditions had affected deliveries.

While most dairy farmers have refrigerated milk storage tanks, they can only hold a certain amount.

Some farmers have already had to dispose of milk that has been uncollected.