PALIN MITENK BLOG

By James Tozer, Ray Massey and Ryan Kisiel

Snow flurry: Flakes fall on Oxford Street in central London as shoppers continue their last minute Christmas shopping


Chaos gripped the transport network last night after some of the heaviest pre-Christmas snowfalls in a decade.
Flights were grounded, ruining the holiday plans of thousands, while roads were closed and stranded motorists forced to abandon their cars as darkness fell.
With anger growing at the inability to cope, and the failure to learn the lessons of February's big freeze:

The AA reported its busiest day for ten years, attending 16,000 breakdowns as motorists battled through the snow

Dozens of flights from Heathrow were cancelled, Gatwick was closed and passengers at Manchester Airport faced seven-hour queues just to reach the ticket desk
Three days of Eurostar disruption was blamed on the wrong type of snowflake
Cancelled trains reduced stranded shoppers and commuters to despair



Twenty mile jams: The M4 in Berkshire saw huge tailbacks and drivers were urged to choose other routes


Stranded in St Pancras: Passengers wait in vain for Eurostar services to France


The great blizzard intensified speculation about a white Christmas, and bookmakers were inundated with record numbers of bets. William Hill was offering 9/4 against snow in London on Christmas Day yesterday, with Aberdeen the likeliest prospect in Britain at 11/10.
Icy weather is likely to continue today leaving families running out of time to make alternative travel arrangements or finish last-minute preparations.
Forecasters predict a thaw will start to set in from Christmas Eve in the South at least, but frosty nights and freezing fog are expected elsewhere for the rest of the week.
The havoc which paralysed much of Britain was caused by a band of snow which spread from the South East yesterday afternoon, adding two inches to what had fallen over the weekend.
It coincided with the evening rush-hour, causing gridlock on roads out of London and bringing motorways across the South to a virtual standstill with drivers urged to avoid them at all costs.
There were tailbacks of more than 20 miles on the M4 out of London. The M25, M23, M40, A40, M3 and A3 were also badly affected.
AA president Edmund King claimed the lessons of the big February freeze had still not been learned by the Highways Agency and local councils, and said salting had not been planned properly for the big freeze.
His organisation had helped 16,000 motorists by 3pm. Normally, for the whole of a Monday in December the AA would attend around 10,000 vehicles.
He said: 'We are pleading with local highway authorities, who have claimed that they have no salt shortages, to use their supplies more effectively and in a timelier manner.'
Graham Robinson, control room manager for North East Ambulance Service, said: 'Crews were telling us that the main roads had not been gritted, which was slowing down ambulances on emergency calls.

'We expect side roads not to be treated, but some of the main routes appeared to be just as bad.'
Five people, including a woman in her 80s, were forced to stay the night at St Lawrence Church in the small market town of Alton, Hampshire after becoming stuck in the snow.
Hundreds of Christmas shoppers in Reading were stranded for hours trying to enter a car park and were facing the prospect of facing the night there.

Cecilia Paolino, 34, who is seven and a half months pregnant, said: 'This country isn't prepared for snow.
I just hope the baby doesn't come now - a helicopter would have to come for me.'

In neighbouring Buckinghamshire, hundreds of motorists were trapped near Chalfont St Peter, leading to angry protests at how swiftly the road became impassable.

The snow closed the runway at Gatwick Airport for seven hours, while Luton and London City airports were also brought to a standstill.

Low-cost airline easyJet cancelled flights today from Luton, Gatwick, Stansted.

Passengers were advised to check the 'Flight Disruption' section on the easyJet website to see if their flight had been affected.

And last night British Airways cancelled all European and UK domestic flights leaving Heathrow as workers struggled to clear the snow and ice.


Commuter chaos: Snow took drivers by surprise in Church Street Kensington

Gridlock: Traffic backs up in Hemel Hempstead
There were furious scenes at Manchester Airport where hundreds of passengers were stranded overnight as weekend cancellations were compounded by snowbound destinations on the Continent.
Trains were also hit with delays across Southern England including services between London and Milton Keynes Central and Virgin West Coast routes, while London Charing Cross station became jammed with people as the backlog began to bite.

Delays at London Victoria saw 100 stranded passengers whose services had been cancelled offered a free lift home on a steam train which normally charges £200 a head for a leisurely trip through Kent with a four-course meal.



Picture perfect: Horseriders brave the snow on the east Pennines in Middleham, North Yorkshire


A scooter rider carefully negotiates the roads at Olympia, West London (left), while Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall throws a snowball after attending a tea party for children from Ty Hafan hospice in Wales at Highgrove House in Gloucestershire
The head of Cathedrals Express, Graeme Bunker, said: 'The passengers were all stuck and had no way of getting home so we were delighted to help them out as there was plenty of space.'
Steam trains can keep going partly because the steam melts most of the snow along the lines, but mainly because they do not have the electrical components of modern trains, which stop working when they get wet.


Standstill: A Eurostar train sits in a siding in the Kent countryside (left), while cars back up in Wandsworth, London (right)


Unsteady: A two-month-old king penguin chick slips on the frozen ice and snow at Edinburgh Zoo


Winter wonderland: Walkers take a stroll among the snow-covered trees at the National Arboretum, Westonbirt, Gloucestershire


source: dailymail