Police have warned drivers of hazardous conditions on roads and thousands of homes in the UK are without power as heavy snow hit parts of the UK....
Drivers have been left at a standstill on the A14 in Northamptonshire for several hours, while a lorry crash on the M1 earlier blocked the motorway.
There are warnings for ice in Scotland, Northern Ireland and north-east England and snow in Wales and parts of England.
Stansted airport has suspended flights twice to clear snow from the runway.
A spokesman for the airport warned there could be further closures throughout the day to deal with continual snowfall and 16 Ryanair flights have been cancelled.
Luton airport said it had to significantly reduce the number of inbound flights it was accepting.
Some flights have also been cancelled and there have been delays to allow de-icing of aircraft, a spokesman added.
Meanwhile, Western Power Distribution said about 7,000 homes were without power in the Midlands, south-west England and Wales, but that more than 25,000 customers had had their power restored since Tuesday morning.
The firm said the cuts were all snow-related and extra staff - who had been on standby for poor weather - had been called in to work to reconnect properties.
Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks said about 5,500 customers were without power.
Andover and Basingstoke in Hampshire, Melksham and Swindon in Wiltshire, Newbury in Berkshire, as well as areas of Oxfordshire, had all been affected, it added.
Power had now been restored to about 12,500 properties, the firm said.
Frank Bird, from Highways England, said the worst of the conditions were now over in the West Midlands, as the bad weather had moved eastwards.
He said 2,000 tonnes of salt and grit had been put down in the region overnight, adding that treating roads was a "battle that we are constantly fighting".
One of those caught up in the problems on the A14 was lorry driver Simon Talbot, he had been stuck for more than three hours.
'A complete standstill'
"I've been stationary since about 02:20 GMT westbound on the A14, there is approximately 5ins (12cm) of snow we've had and I'm just stationary," he said.
"I'm on an incline and there are lorries and vans in front that are unable to get up the hill because of the snow. So it is just a waiting game at the moment."
Tara DeFabrizio was stuck on the road for five hours, after leaving home from Northampton at 06:00 GMT.
"It's a complete standstill. I've called my boss now to say I won't be coming in."
She added: "I don't know why it's so bad this time - when we had a lot of snow two weeks ago, I got to work fine."
Referring to an earlier incident on the M1, Leicestershire Police tweeted there had been an accident involving a lorry, which had blocked all three lanes.
The force said the motorway had been reopened shortly after 10:00 GMT.
It added: "Please be aware that snow is falling across the county and in some cases it is settling, causing hazardous conditions for drivers. Please take care and take the necessary precautions."
Officers said there have been "long delays" on the A34 between the M4 and A4185 in Berkshire due to the weather conditions and slow moving traffic.
No comments: