A British teenager who was crushed by a giant snowball she’d made with friends says she ‘‘froze on the spot’’ when she saw the projectile hurtling towards her.

Nicole Wignall, 16, is recovering in hospital after the snowball pinned her against a wall, breaking her pelvis in four places.

Freezing weather gripped the United Kingdom last week resulting in more than 10 deaths.

Wignall built the giant snowball with friends when her school was closed due to the freezing conditions.

‘‘It took seven of us to push it to the top of a steep hill then we had a break,’’ the student told British newspaper The Sun on Monday.

‘‘(Later) we saw the snowball coming down really fast.

‘‘My friend moved out of the way but I froze on the spot and the snowball smashed into me.’’

Wignall’s mother Fiona said the 1.5m snowball ‘‘was the size of a small car’’.

‘‘She had a very lucky escape.’’

More than 200 flood alerts are in place across the UK as heavy rain mixed with melting snow marks the latest weather battle.

- AAP