SNOW wreaked travel misery for morning commuters yesterday.

The region was warned to ‘be prepared’ by the Met Office, and in Neston a car overturned on Upper Raby Road as rain, sleet and snow fell on frozen surfaces.

The M53 motorway had a temporary 40mph speed limit imposed as gritters treated the road surface, while traffic ran slowly on the M56.

On the railways, one Merseyrail train was cancelled and others were delayed as the treacherous conditions hit Liverpool hard.

Passengers on the delayed 7.45am Merseyrail train travelling from Liverpool to Chester were forced to disembark at Hooton and wait on the platform for another train for 25 minutes.

One disgruntled commuter in Hooton, who was an hour and a half late for work, said: “They knew it was going to happen and they’ve done nothing about it. It’s chaos – no-one knows what’s going on.”

And Cheshire Constabulary advised motorists to only make essential journeys.

A spokeswoman said: “Our advice to motorists is to only make your journey if it is essential, to make sure you have plenty of fuel in your car and take warm clothing and a hot drink in a flask.

“If your car breaks down, please contact the recovery services.

“If your vehicle is blocking the highway or you have collided with anything, or you are injured in any way, call 0845 458 0000 unless it is an emergency, when you should call 999.”

Cheshire West and Chester Council said the authority is managing stocks of salt ‘very carefully’ in order to keep primary routes open.

“Secondary routes and side roads will only be gritted where there is a safety issue. We would appeal to the public using the secondary routes and side roads to drive with the utmost caution while these conditions persist.

“Public transport and school services are still running normally, unless a school has had to close.”

There was only one school closure yesterday in Ellesmere Port and Neston – Hinderton School suffered heating problems – although sixth form students at Whitby High School were sent home on Monday after one of the boilers failed.

The remaining pupils were accommodated in another building and the boiler was up and running again later that afternoon.