Scottish ski resorts face one of their worst seasons in recent years after the warmest autumn and winter on record.

Hopes of an end of season boost are fading, with the Met Office predicting a warmer than average spring and little prospect of a cold snap.

A shortage of snow has hit slopes across Europe and strong winds are also being blamed for keeping skiers and snowboarders off the Scottish slopes.

A Met Office spokesman in Aberdeen said: "There will be nothing too prolonged or which will provide the big dump of snow which the ski resorts will be looking for to bring a really good end to the season. For spring as a whole there is a 70% probability that the mean temperature will be above the long-term average."

He said that there had not been enough snow to provide the good base which the resorts required and it was unlikely now.

CairnGorm Mountain said its season was now entering a "make or break period".

Graham McCabe, managing director of Glenshee, said: "It's not gone very well at allIt has been a poor season - one of the worst in recent years - 1992 was the last time it was this bad."