Big freeze leaves Yorkshire in chaos

Bad conditions meant rail and air passengers all over the country suffered serious delays and cancellations, while many motorists were forced stay indoors. Temperatures plummeted to as low as minus 11C.

The AA reported its busiest November day on record with close to 25,000 call-outs and a significant workload in the North. The RAC said breakdown calls peaked at 2,000 an hour and forecasters warned there was no sign of a let-up in the icy spell.

The A57 at Snake Pass, A6024 at Holme Moss, and A628 at Woodhead were all closed by snow.

All East Coast Main Line services were affected, the East Coast train company having to introduce a revised timetable which included a reduced London to Leeds service.

Heavy snowfall caused Leeds Bradford Airport to close its runway for a time yesterday morning and passengers were warned to expect delays.

Elsewhere, around 160 schools were closed in South Yorkshire as Sheffield, Doncaster, Rotherham and Barnsley were all affected by the snowfall. Both primary and secondary schools were shut as staff struggled to arrive.

A further 160 schools were closed across West Yorkshire, some because of heating system failures and others with burst water pipes.

Some schools reported that roads had not been gritted and that cars could not get up the steep hills to school.

Refuse collections in Yorkshire were also disrupted. Rotherham council chiefs asked residents to "remain patient" while garden waste collections have been halted in Leeds to allow refuse collectors to focus on household waste and recycling services.

Meanwhile, residents at risk of flooding in West Yorkshire were urged to familiarise themselves with the Environment Agency's new flood warning codes.

The warning came as Yorkshire Water said it had seen a 60 per cent increase in customer calls to its contact centre in Bradford over the last four days, to report possible leaks and frozen water pipes.

Breakdown patrollers warned car owners to keep their vehicles in garages if possible to avoid doors freezing shut and said the use of brakes should be minimised if driving on icy roads.

Several more centimetres of snow is expected to fall around Britain in coming days and rain, sleet and snow could last the rest of the week. The Met Office said severe weather warnings were in place along the east coast from Scotland to the South-East.