Any would-be buyers going on a viewing with Spicerhaart while the country shivered in Beast from the East’s icy grip last week would have been in for a white-knuckle ride.

Such hazardous conditions hold no fear for a group of high-performing agents at the firm after they undertook snow driving training.

The 24-strong group, who work in estate agency, lettings and financial services for Spicerhaart’s agencies including haart, Chewton Rose, Felicity J Lord, Darlows and Haybrook, were taken on a thrill-seeking ice extravaganza to Sölden in Austria.

Part of the experience was driving BMW cars across an assault course on a glacier, with expert tutors on hand to guide them on how to avoid skidding into walls of ice, avoiding steep drops down the mountainside.

Mel Mills, branch manager of haart in Bury St Edmunds, said: “It was a brilliant trip, absolutely fantastic.

“Everyone really enjoyed it and had a great laugh at the same time. I was a bit nervous to start with but we had such brilliant teachers.

“It’s great as well for this weather – we all now know how to drive properly in the snow!”

Paul Smith, chief executive of Spicerhaart, said: “Rewarding the very best is always the greatest part of my job. Every year we try to find extraordinary experiences to incentivise our teams across the UK to be the best performers in the company.

“This year we took them on the BMW Snow Training experience, surrounded by the stunning scenery of the Austrian Alps, and it was absolutely thrilling and exhilarating.

“Racing finely tuned BMW’s across glaciers with our top people on the highest mountain range in Europe takes some beating.

“Little did we realise just how quickly we would be putting our new-found skills to the test, back home in the UK!”