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Monday 11 December 2017

HUNDREDS Of Schools Across Britain Are Closed And Transport Links Grind To A Halt - A Day After First Serious Snowfall Hits Causing Power Failures And Chaos On The Roads


Heavy snow brought traffic to a halt near Rettendon, Essex, on Sunday after parts of Britain were covered in up to 13 inches of snow 

It was the first serious snowfall of the winter, and predictably much of the country was paralysed yesterday.
But, even though gritters will have tackled what is left of the snow overnight, England's second city will still grind to a halt today – much to the chagrin of parents and workers.
Although little snow is expected today, all schools in Birmingham will be shut, bus services scrapped and bin collections abandoned.
Critics branded the closures 'ridiculous' and said authorities were 'too quick' to shut schools in bad weather. Some 200,000 children will have an extra day off after the decision by Birmingham City Council – Britain's largest local authority.

A fallen tree crushes a campervan on the A40 near Sennybridge, Wales, where the coldest temperature of the year was recorded this morning at -11C
Bin collections in the city were cancelled because it was 'not safe for people to take their rubbish out'.
Other schools across the country are also closed today as yesterday saw the effect of a so-called 'snowbomb', in which moist air from the Atlantic comes up against a rapidly increasing whirlpool of violently strong winds and storms from the Arctic.
The West Midlands was one of the worst affected areas, with around eight inches of snow – although much of it in the city centre had turned to slush last night.


The weather also exposed the fragility of Britain's transport network. Roads were closed, bus and train services cancelled and airports temporarily shut down.
Thousands of homes were left without power, and events across the country were cancelled – including, ironically, the ice rink installed at the Quays in Gloucester.
Shopping outlet Bicester Village, Oxfordshire, was left without electricity, and was forced to close early at midday, while a Christmas market in Lincolnshire was also shut, to the frustration of shoppers.

The travel chaos is expected to continue today, with forecasters warning of treacherous conditions on the roads as freezing overnight temperatures turn the snow into deadly black ice.
The RAC said so-called 'Black Monday' is set to be one of its busiest days for ten years, with an estimated 11,000 call-outs.
Temperatures were expected to plunge as low as -12C (10F) overnight, as the Met Office issued a yellow weather warning for ice covering central and southern England and northern Scotland.

Birmingham City Council said its schools were closed due to the 'recent adverse weather and forecast for freezing conditions'.
Colin Diamond, Birmingham's children's director, said even if pupils could walk to school, the council could not guarantee there would be enough staff there to look after them.
Schools were also set to shut in Gloucestershire, Hertfordshire, Buckinghamshire and Worcestershire, even though little snow was expected to fall today.
In Gloucestershire, more than 60 schools will be closed, as well as more than 50 in Worcestershire, and 75 in Powys.
Other closures were announced in Shropshire, Essex, Staffordshire, Derbyshire, Leicestershire and Buckinghamshire.
Even schools in London were planning to shut their doors today. Drapers Academy, which runs a number of schools in Romford, east London, said it was closing because staff did not think they would be able to get in.

But while some parents welcomed a 'snow day', others were incredulous.
Michelle Skeels wrote on Facebook: 'How ridiculous... it will be melted by tomorrow.' Margaret Morrissey, of campaign group Parents Outloud, said: 'I think the schools are too quick to close, it is the easy option.
'I think the decision to close all of the schools in a city as big as Birmingham is quite frankly ridiculous.'

The heaviest snowfall yesterday was in Sennybridge, in the Brecon Beacons, where over a foot of snow was recorded, making roads impassable.
In England nearly seven inches was recorded in High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire.
Motorists endured gridlock as they battled the treacherous conditions. Many motorways were closed temporarily, and there were severe delays on the M25, with 'multiple incidents' of vehicles crashing into others.

Meanwhile Highways England claimed the snow chaos on the M40, where hundreds of cars were stranded, was caused by a lack of vehicles on the road.
The agency said it had deployed eight gritters to the motorway in Warwickshire but that the rock salt was not spread adequately by drivers.
A spokesman said: 'There was a lot of snow, and the action of the salt relies on traffic, and it was a Sunday and the emergency services were telling people not drive, so there were not enough cars for it to be effective.'
It was described as looking 'like a war-zone' after a series of crashes on Sunday.





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