Snow And Ice Cause Chaos On Rail And Roads

Mid-March travel misery has continued for millions with the late blasts of winter closing roads, disrupting flights and cancelling trains.

Ice warnings were in place for much of the country, and drivers in snow-hit areas urged to postpone journeys if possible.

The Met Office issued yellow "be aware" warnings for parts of the South East. South West, northern Scotland and Ireland, as well as western parts of Wales.

Temperatures were expected to stay below freezing in many areas for the next few days, with the minimum as low as -7C.

Up to 10cm (4in) of snow was forecast to settle in the worst-affected areas, including Kent, Sussex and southern Hampshire, and over higher ground in areas like the Pennines.

The M20 southbound remains gridlocked due to the severe weather

Some of the roads where driving conditions were at their worst included the M20 in Kent and the A2.

The Highways Agency earlier warned motorists heading north from the Dover Ports to take the M20 London bound and to avoid the A2, while those driving in and around West Sussex were advised to avoid the A23 and M23.

Rail services also faced disruption. Southern warned of short-notice cancellations and delays of up to an hour on all services.

There were delays to Southeastern services between Paddock Wood and Strood in Kent because of a signalling problem, while some Gatwick Express services were cancelled.

On First Capital Connect, journeys between Bedford and Brighton were also subject to short-notice cancellations, with delays of up to 45 minutes.

Popstars Toyah Willcox and Cheryl Baker were among those trapped

Ice and snow made roads across much of the South East impassable, with Dover and Folkestone among the worst affected.

The Channel Tunnel reopened after technical issues, with delays back to Junction 10 (Ashford) on the M20.

Eurostar suspended its services for the day because of bad weather in France and Belgium.

A message on its website said: "Our advice to passengers is not to travel today and not to come to our stations. Exchanges and refunds will be available to affected passengers."

At the Port of Dover in Kent, cross-Channel ferry operations were operating "as far as possible", but passengers were advised to allow extra time for their journeys amid possible road blockages on the A2 and A20.

Jersey Airport was closed for the day, while travellers heading for Gatwick were warned to allow extra time to reach the West Sussex airport due to snow on the roads in the area.

Poor road conditions have hampered much of the UK

Speed restrictions were in place on the M48 Severn Bridge in Monmouthshire due to strong winds.

About 500 passengers on a ferry from Ireland to France were forced to spend the night anchored off shore after the vessel failed to dock due to high seas.

A number of French children on a school trip to Ireland were among those on board Irish Ferries vessel Oscar Wilde, which made numerous attempts to dock in Cherbourg in the north-west of France

Police in Sussex said they had attended more than 300 crashes during Monday and overnight across the county, where some motorists were trapped in their cars in the snow for up to 10 hours in blizzard-like conditions.

The force received nearly 2,500 emergency and non-emergency calls - around 700 more than an average March weekday.

The British Red Cross sent emergency teams out to help those stranded in the freezing conditions overnight on the A23 with tailbacks stretching 30 miles.

Residents in Crawley wake up to the snow

A spokesman for the police force said it was stretched to "capacity" recovering abandoned vehicles and helping those stranded.

Chief Inspector Phil Nicholas, from the force's roads policing unit, said: "Today is going to be about helping recover vehicles as many people fell asleep in their cars or abandoned them, so even when the roads did become clearer they were still blocked.

"Although the conditions have improved slightly, we are asking people to not make any journeys unless they are essential."

Cheryl Baker, the 1980s pop star with the Eurovision-winning group Bucks Fizz, was among those stuck on the A23 as she tried to make her way to Brighton to her children. At 10.30am she tweeted: "WE'RE HOME!! Only taken 15 1/2 hours!!"

South East Coast Ambulance Service asked the public to only dial 999 in a genuine emergency because staff were struggling to get into work.

The disruption followed a night of chaos on the roads during which snow ploughs and gritters struggled to get through to clear the roads after a number of vehicles jackknifed causing gridlock.

Snow ploughs and gritters were stuck in the traffic. (Pic: Jonathan Lava)

Temperatures plummeted to as low as -3C (27F), forcing many people to abandon their vehicles for service stations.

Abandoned cars had to be moved to allow the gritters, snow ploughs and emergency teams to pass.

The worst affected areas were the A23 between Crawley and Brighton and the M23 around Handcross Hill.

Toyah Willcox, another 1980s pop star, who was among those stranded on the A23 around 15 miles from Brighton, tweeted: "Still on A23, not moved yet northbound is moving freely. 6 hours! Come on snow isn't that bad."

A number of motorists questioned why gritters had failed to keep the roads clear despite clear forecasts of heavy snow.

The Highways Agency said extra gritters had been out on the roads since 6am on Monday preparing for the freezing weather.

Forecasters believe Monday was the coldest March day in 27 years, since March 1, 1986. Saughall, in south Lanarkshire, reached -12C (10F).

Ladbrokes said they have been forced to slash the odds of snow reappearing across Easter weekend, March 29 to April 1.

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