Snow And Ice Cause Chaos On Rail And Roads

Police are still assisting hundreds of motorists stuck in their cars across the country after heavy snowfall - with more on its way.

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

The Met Office has issued yellow "be aware" warnings for parts of the South East and Scotland.

Temperatures are 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 is forecast to settle in the worst-affected areas, including Kent, Sussex and southern Hampshire, and over higher ground in areas like the Pennines, while large areas could see around up to 4cm (1.6in) accumulate.

The M20 southbound remains gridlocked due to the severe weather

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

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

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

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

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

Popstars Toyah Willcox and Cheryl Baker were among those trapped

Intense showers and possible snowfall are due across Suffolk, Essex and the London area, with gusty winds of up to 55mph.

Eastern and central parts of Scotland have also been hit by poor weather conditions, and a dusting of snow is expected in all other areas of the country.

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

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

Eurostar has suspended its services until further notice 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."

Poor road conditions have hampered much of the UK

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

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

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

Police in Sussex have attended more than 300 crashes in the past 24 hours across the county, where some motorists were trapped in their cars in the snow for up to 10 hours in blizzard-like conditions.

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.

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

Residents in Crawley wake up to the snow

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 has asked the public to only dial 999 in a genuine emergency with its staff having to be picked up in 4x4s where possible because they are struggling to get into work.

The continuing disruption follows 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.

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.

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

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.

A spokesman said: "We've been working hard with our contractors and partners, including local authorities and the police, to keep the roads across the south east open.

"Our roads have been treated throughout the day; however some lorries have jackknifed causing closures at several locations and as a result our salt spreaders and recovery vehicles have become stuck in the traffic."

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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