Three Premiership matches were called off last night because of freezing temperatures across Britain - Bolton's game against Middlesbrough, Blackburn's match with Sunderland, and Newcastle's against Charlton.

Bolton's game was called off after a failure by the undersoil heating system left areas of their Reebok Stadium pitch frozen solid. Blackburn's pitch at Ewood Park was covered by heavy frost and deemed unplayable, while Newcastle's game was called off shortly before the scheduled kick-off at St James' Park.

The match had been given the go-ahead following a 6.20pm pitch inspection but with snow continuing to fall, causing problems on the access routes to the stadium, referee Mike Dean postponed the game because of safety concerns for spectators.