18/01/2013

Heavy Snow Impacting Schools And Transport Services

A band of heavy snow affecting most of the UK has caused widespread transport disruption and the closure of hundreds of schools.

70 flights out of Heathrow Airport have been cancelled, alongside the closure of runways at Bristol, Cardiff and Southampton airports.

Hazardous conditions are being reported on many roads.

England and Northern Ireland are currently under an amber warning, with a rare red warning issued by the Met Office for parts of Wales. Snow also due in parts of Scotland.

The weather has already affected many parts of the UK:

• Many major roads are being affected by snow, with parts of the

M4 and M50 closed for a time. There are hazardous conditions

on the M5, the BBC travel centre reports

• 10,000 households in parts of south Wales are being affected by

power cuts

• British Airways has cancelled over 60 flights. It has offered those

travelling on Friday and over the weekend the chance to change

their flights free of charge to a later date

• Eurostar cancelled four journeys between London and Brussels

• The East Coast train company has lifted ticket restrictions for all

journeys on its trains which arrive in, or depart from, King's

Cross station in London after 10:00 GMT on Friday

• Rail services have also been affected with some operators

running altered timetables. South West Trains has published a

revised timetable, while Southern Railways said it planned to

operate a "less frequent service" between London and the south

coast

• In London, contingency plans for Tube services have been put in

place

(H/GK)


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