Hundreds of motorists have been left stranded and hundreds of schools across the country have closed this week after Britain has been hit with heavy snowfall. The Highways Agency have advised motorists to keep off the roads unless absolutly neccessary as the roads are becoming more dangerous with each passing day. In Devon motorists were rescued after being left stranded in over a foot of snow some were forced to spend the night in their vehicles as temperatures plummeted outside while others abandoned their cars and sought refuge in nearby garages and hotels and on the M4 the Severn bridge area was closed as great sheets of ice began crashing into windscreens of passing cars, although there were no casualties five cars were hit and the area of course remains very dangerous..
In some parts of the country thousands of homes have been left without power due to the worsening weather and over the coming weekend it has been forecast that temperatures are set to fall to -10C which could mean bad news for local councils, it has been reported that some councils are running out of road salt which the Highways Agency say could lead to a crisis on the roads as there are very limited supplies left.
Cheshire based Salt Union said staff were working around the clock but still could not meet the high demand for the salt at the moment, some councils have reported at only having enough left to last the next two to three days and the Irish Salt Mining and Exploration in Carrickfergus, Antrim, is digging up to 6,000 tonnes of salt a day trying to keep up with demand for it. Gloucestershire County Council has been running low on rock salt to grit the county's roads but has now found 500 tonnes of white table salt and had had to resort to use this to make the roads safer for drivers, desperate times call for desperate measures.
Travel has been greatly affected by the heavy snowfalll with bus services ceasing to work and trains being delayed and cancelled causing chaos for commuters, also some airports have reported cancellations and huge delays due to the bad weather.
The delays in transport have caused offices and work places to close due to staffing problems as many commuters could not make the journey into work and the postal service hassuffered delays in delivering post and parcels etc. Most children throughout the country will have had a great time this week with an unexpected break from school and the added bonus of snow on their doorstep to go sledging or build snowmen in, how delightful it is to see the children out and about at the moment enjoying the weather bringing a little joy where there is so much chaos and crazyness at the moment. Normanton Voice from West Yorkshire has reported on 06/02/09 Didim Today Altinkum Turkey
