03/02/2009

Commuters Face Delays As Big Freeze Continues

Commuters are to face further disruption as Britain's 'Big freeze' continues to spread chaos across the country.

Forecasters have warned northern England, Scotland and Wales could be battered with the worst of the wintry conditions, which yesterday affected bus, train and air travel and saw hundreds of schools closed.

South-east England was particularly affected yesterday by the snow, with delays on motorways and transport cancellations.

It is thought the snow will move north towards the Pennines, north-east England, eastern Scotland and the Borders.

An extreme weather warning has been issued by the Met Office, for motorists to beware of icy roads and drifting or heavy snow.

Forecaster Claire Austin said: "Northern England and Scotland will be having lots of snow, mainly on higher ground, with sleet and rain elsewhere.

"The snow will also come to west Wales and south-west England. As the day goes on northern England will get drier but the rain will stay in Scotland and fall as snow over higher ground. Northern Ireland will stay wet.

"Wales and south-west England will have wintry showers with a mixture of sleet, snow and a bit of hail. The rest of the country will stay pretty much dry."

Yesterday London buses were pulled from service and a number of train services linking London and the south coast were also delayed or cancelled as snow fell on the tracks.

A spokesman for Network Rail, which runs Britain's rail infrastructure, said there would be "a much better service" on commuter routes into London than yesterday, but passengers are still being advised not to travel on South West Trains.

He said: "We still expect there will be some delays to services in the morning. We expect people will be able to get into Charing Cross and London Bridge, which they weren't able to do."

See: Heavy Snow Causes Chaos Across Britain

(JM/BMcC)

Related UK National News Stories
Click here for the latest headlines.

25 July 2007
Former England footballers arrested over limo theft
Two former England footballers have been arrested on suspicion of the theft of a limousine, it has been reported. Rob Lee, 38 and Warren Barton, 41, were arrested after police were called to Hackney Road in east London following reports of a car being stolen, around 11:30pm on Tuesday night.
02 February 2009
Heavy Snow Causes Chaos Across Britain
Heavy snow and wintry weather is causing chaos across Britain, with hundreds of schools being forced to shut and bus, train and air travel services temporarily closed. South-east England is the worst affected by the worst snow seen in the area for 18 years.
24 January 2007
Weather warnings issued following snow
The Met Office has issued severe weather warnings for parts of England and Scotland following snow overnight. Warnings are in place in the East coast of England, central and southern London, the Midlands and the Grampian region in Scotland. An average of 2cm of snow fell in London, Surrey, Sussex and Kent overnight.
22 February 2005
Cold weather set to continue
The current cold spell gripping the UK is set to continue, the Met Office has warned, with more snow showers expected across England and Wales today. South East England could see accumulations of snow of between 3 to 7cm, due to persistent snow showers, the Met Office warned.
24 November 2010
'Significant Snow' Forecast For UK
According to weather forecasters, Britain is about to enter a cold snap bringing along one of the earliest significant snowfalls since 1993. The north and east of the UK are expected to be the worst hit as overnight tonight, between 6-8 inches of snow are expected in Scotland, and 1-2 inches in north-east England have been predicted.