Death crash causes chaos as motorists crawl back to work

About 15 miles of traffic was left queuing on a freezing M62 after the motorway was closed westbound when a man in his 50s was hit by a lorry near junction 23 and killed.

Many roads were treacherous and the B1249 in the East Riding was briefly closed, while police described the back roads around the A1079 and A166 as "very dangerous".

Last night, North Yorkshire Police said there had been 18 crashes caused by snow in the county.

Trains between Leeds and London were also delayed.

Leeds Bradford Airport closed for two hours in the morning because of the heavy snow, delaying some flights.

Police in Scarborough issued a warning after a bus crashed when snowballs were hurled at the windscreen, but no passengers were on board.

In a separate attack, a Scarborough man was left needing hospital treatment after being hit in the face by a rogue snowball.

Assistant chief constable Sue Cross said: "As a result of the snowballing a number of properties have had windows broken and vehicles have skidded in the icy conditions.

"We don't want to stop youngsters from enjoying the snowy weather.

"However, they need to think through the consequences of their actions and I urge parents to drill this message home as well."

Almost a third of the schools in the East Riding were forced to shut and East Riding Council said it expected a "significant" number would be closed today.

Council gritters had been operating continuously for 36 hours by yesterday evening, but many roads got a fresh covering of snow soon after being treated.

The freeze also severely disrupted waste collection services in Hambleton and Richmondshire in North Yorkshire, while in Hull the city council said it had made "good headway" with waste collections but could not reach some areas.