Thousands Abandon Cars As British Christmas Nightmare Continues

Dec 22, 2009 6 Comments ›› Pat Dollard

Times Online:

The Christmas travel nightmare was grinding on today with more snow and ice causing havoc on the roads and further disruption for rail and air services.

Plunging overnight temperatures have transformed many of yesterday’s snowfalls into treacherous surfaces, with the Met Office warning of “widespread icy roads” for most of England and Wales as well as more snowfalls for the southern half of the country.

Many roads in the Home Counties were gridlocked yesterday with London and the South East worst hit for vehicle breakdowns. The AA reported one of its busiest days on record, dealing with more than 20,000 breakdowns by the end of the night – more than twice the normal level.

Drivers in Basingstoke and the surrounding area have been forced to spend several hours in their cars after being brought to a standstill by heavy snowfalls.

Hampshire Police said at the height of the gridlock in Basingstoke last night, around 2,000 motorists were stuck in traffic. Virtually all had managed to managed to move on by 2.30am, a spokesman said.

Drivers also faced severe delays on the M40 in Buckinghamshire and in Reading, Berkshire, last night.

Thames Valley Police said six rest centres were set up in the High Wycombe area of Buckinghamshire to help stranded drivers, with another two in Reading.

The force warned motorists that the coldest part of today would coincide with the morning rush hour, adding: “Unless it is absolutely essential you are strongly advised not to travel.”

Temperatures were predicted to fall to zero (32F) in central London overnight, minus 4C (25F) in Newcastle, minus 4C in Glasgow, the same in Manchester and minus 2C (28F) in Cardiff. In parts of northern England they could reach as low as minus 9C (16F), and minus 13C (9F) in the highlands of Scotland.

Travellers also face another raft of train and flight cancellations and delays, although several airports have reopened their runways and Channel Tunnel high-speed Eurostar trains are resuming a restricted service after three days of suspension caused by “fluffy snow”.

EasyJet said the hangover from yesterday’s bad weather would see scores of flights cancelled from Luton, Gatwick, Stansted, Glasgow and Edinburgh airports this morning.

British Airways cancelled all UK and European flights departing after 7pm yesterday, and was “strongly” advising passengers to check their flight status before setting off today.

Staff at Gatwick are working to clear a backlog after reopening the runway last night, while Aberdeen, Luton and Southampton were also working to resume flight operations but warning travellers of continued delays.

Manchester airport – where passengers had to endure long waits just to reach the check-in desk – gave out food, water and blankets overnight to people stranded by delays.

“Staff are working incredibly hard to clear the ice and snow from our 750 hectare site,” a spokesman said, warning of further havoc.

On the trains, Eurostar is resuming a restricted service from 7.30am, when customers with tickets for December 19 and 20 allowed to travel.

Chief executive Richard Brown said he was “very, very sorry” about the train breakdowns which left thousands trapped in trains in the Channel Tunnel at the weekend, with the operator blaming the amount of “lighter, fluffier” type of snow for the travel turmoil.

Rail passengers in Surrey, Hampshire, Kent, Wales and Lancashire were also braced for further disruption, after being forced to use replacement bus services yesterday because of the weather.

Elsewhere, more than 180 schools and nurseries were also closed in south Wales because of poor weather conditions.

In Bradford, police appealed for witnesses after a man was found dead in a freezing city centre pond.

The victim, named locally as Trevor Farr, who was 55 and from the city, is reported to have suffered a heart attack before falling in the pond.

Also, fears were growing for a young man who vanished in the freezing weather. Adam Passfield, 22, was last seen at 2.30am on Saturday in Chelmsford, Essex, after an evening out with members of Heybridge Swifts Football Club.

A seven-year-old girl who went missing in Nottingham yesterday morning returned home safe and well last night.

The icy conditions look set to stay, although there will be less snow in the next few days.

Paul Mott, from Meteogroup, said counties to the north and west of London will be worst hit by snow overnight, while northern England will see temperatures as low as minus 9C in rural areas, and minus 13 in the Scottish highlands.

There would be less snow today, he said, but plummeting temperatures meant the continuing risk of ice.

He said: “There is certainly a lot of grit on the roads at the moment but one of the problems is that there is a risk of ice on untreated roads.

“It will be feeling cold over the next few days but it will be drier than it has been.”

Hampshire Police said five emergency rescue centres had been set up overnight in the north of the county to help motorists stranded by the snow and ice.

There are two in Basingstoke, one in nearby Oakridge and two in Alton – with a “small” number of drivers said to be using the facilities by the early hours.

Extra volunteers are on stand-by to help out at the centres, which are mostly churches, if more motorists arrive.

A Hampshire Police spokesman said: “There are extra patrols to check on the welfare of motorists stranded on main and minor roads in the north of the county.

“Police are also patrolling with Hampshire Fire and Rescue staff in its vehicles so additional patrols can be carried out.”