Snow storms bring more chaos

Feb 6 2009

Two hundred motorists were stranded overnight as new snow storms battered large parts of the country.

They were helped from cars after up to a foot of snow fell in Devon. The operation - which involved police, army and civilian teams - came as forecasters warned that much of the country faced a fifth consecutive day of major disruption from the weather.

Around 200 vehicles were stranded on the A38 and A380 south of Exeter, with dozens of others stuck on the A386 near Tavistock. Police and army teams used 4x4s to reach trapped motorists, with other drivers choosing to make their own way to safety.

More than 200 people were recovering in shelters set up near Exeter and in Okehampton as the emergency services worked to recover cars and clear the roads.

Snow headed south overnight with flurries in London, Hampshire, Berkshire and southern Oxfordshire but the South West looked like the worst hit.

The weather forced the closure of the two Severn bridges for safety reasons. Both the M48 Severn Bridge, which is now 43 years old, and the M4 Second Severn Crossing, which opened in 1996, were shut after sheets of ice up to a metre square had fallen from overhead sign gantries and smashed the windscreens of five vehicles.

A woman in labour with twins was taken to hospital in a fire engine after an ambulance and a Sea King helicopter could not get through the snow. Snow chains were fitted to the fire engine to allow it to get through heavy snow in North Tawton, Devon. A Sea King helicopter was dispatched from Chivenor but had to turn back due to the bad weather.

The expectant mother was taken to Okehampton Community Hospital where she had twin girls.

Dangerous driving conditions were reported across the region, including the M5 and M4 in Wiltshire and Berkshire, as well as Bristol.

With temperatures dropping as low as minus 8C (17.6F), councils are also perilously close to running out of salt and grit with some forced to ration its use.