Flooding, snow and travel chaos as UK heads back to work

SNOW, ice and floods hampered the big return to work and classrooms after the festive break yesterday as freezing conditions struck schools, roads, rail and airports.

- Chris Riches

The chaos looks set to continue as the Met Office issued fresh yellow weather warnings for snow and ice until midnight tomorrow.

But local authorities and agencies are working around the clock in a bid to keep the UK moving.

It comes as England and Wales had a total of 184 flood warnings last night, meaning flooding is expected, and 324 flood alerts, meaning flooding is possible, after weekend snow flurries melted to slush.

Hundreds of schools were closed yesterday across Lancashire, Yorkshire and northeast Scotland just as pupils prepared to return to lessons after their Christmas and New Year holiday. Nearly 100 flood warnings were in place in the East Midlands, with dozens more across the West Midlands, and major incidents were declared in Leicestershire and Lincolnshire.

While for many, snow and ice is still thick on the ground, with temperatures dropping to -13.3°C overnight into yesterday morning in Loch Glascarnoch in the Highlands.

Dizzy

It was the coldest temperature of the winter so far.

In Leicestershire, as the River Soar levels rose, the fire service took more than 200 calls yesterday morning alone.

Hero restaurant owner Cimi Kazazi was praised after pulling a woman out of her submerged car. The pub owner, who runs The Italian Greyhound in Great Glen, near Market Harborough, carried the 63-year-old from her vehicle and into his hostelry.