A large increase in email traffic across Wales' broadband network during the winter freeze highlights how widespread the practice of working from home has become, according to Ieuan Wyn Jones, the country's deputy first minister.

Speaking to Welsh Assembly members, Jones acknowledged it was too early to determine the impact of the snow on the economy, but pointed out the advantage of remote working during such a period.

"One of the consequences of the bad weather was that lots of people were actually working from home and apparently the email traffic on the broadband network in Wales shot up during the period," he remarked, adding: "[This shows] that even in periods of bad weather people are increasingly looking for opportunities to work from home."

His observations follow research by one broadband provider which highlighted that more than a third of the UK population overall spent time working from home during the Christmas and New Year period.

TalkTalk's study indicated that, on average, people spent three hours and 18 minutes checking their work email or performing employment duties over the holidays, while one in ten claim to have spent more than ten hours homeworking.