Mary HamiltonA miniature snow lady was found nesting in a tree in Sheringham by six-year-old Charlotte Taylor - who has found a way to protect it from the warmer weather to come.Mary Hamilton

Six-year-old Charlotte Taylor was thrilled to discover this unusual snowy visitor nesting in the trees in her front garden.

But the scant snow in Sheringham today and warmer weather on the way led to worries about whether the tiny snowman would survive the day.

And thanks to Charlotte's quick thinking Chilly the Snow Lady is now safe and cool - in the family freezer.

Dad Chris Taylor, who put Chilly in an abandoned blackbird nest in his front garden in Cowslip Lane for his children to find, said she would stay there until the family felt it was time for her to find a new home.

'She's in the freezer because Charlotte really wanted to keep her,' he said. 'Once my wife doesn't want her there any more I'm sure she'll move on.'

Chilly's brightly-coloured buttons, eyes and mouth are made from coloured gravel taken from the bottom of Charlotte's fishtank.

'For Christmas we had a toy penguin in that hat and scarf, so I put him up in the tree as a surprise for the children,' said Mr Taylor, a photographer with a studio in Overstrand.

'When I realised the clothes would fit the snow lady perfectly I stripped the penguin and got her wrapped up warm.'