25/11/2005

Heavy snow disrupts UK travel

Heavy snow has affected many parts of the UK, causing travel chaos.

Scotland, Northern Ireland, Wales and parts of south-west England have been blanketed by snow, with reports of up to 20cm falling in some places.

A crash on Bodmin moor has stranded hundreds of people on the snow bound road.

The incident halted traffic across the moor and it has been reported that around 500 vehicles are now trapped on the A30.

Police have requested assistance from the military to help rescue the travellers stranded on the moor. Four-wheel drive vehicles have been used to rescue some of the stranded motorists and military helicopters are on standby.

In Devon there were snow falls of up to 20cm and, in Cornwall, Newquay airport was closed.

It has also been reported that around 2,000 children have been left stranded in schools across Cornwall because of the weather.

Elsewhere, in northern England 5cm of snow blocked some roads as drifting occurred.

In Scotland heavy snow fell in the Edinburgh region although no roads were reported to have been blocked.

However, many schools were closed on Friday and over 4,000 homes in Scotland were left without electricity.

A number of road accidents have also been reported in Scotland and Wales as a result of the weather. A 50mph speed limit was put in place on the M4 in south Wales.

A motorcyclist was killed in an accident between Sithney and Breague, near Porthleven in Cornwall around 5:30am on Friday morning.

Icy roads, especially in parts of Scotland and Northern Ireland, are expected to cause problems on Friday night.

The Met Office had warned: “Showers will fall widely as snow with local blizzard conditions especially over high ground.”

However, motorists were advised to travel only if their journey was essential.

(KMcA/SP)

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