Great for
sledging but it’s an 
ordeal for travellers

Flights were suspended at Leeds Bradford International Airport and Robin Hood Airport, near Doncaster, for most of yesterday morning as snow and ice were cleared from the runways.

Both had re-opened by lunchtime but dozens of domestic flights continued to be cancelled or delayed throughout the day as the wintry weather wreaked havoc at a number of other UK airports including Heathrow, where more than 200 flights were axed.

The travel chaos extended to the region’s roads despite round-the-clock gritting and ploughing operations in many areas.

Snake Pass and Woodhead Pass were closed due to snow, as were several other major routes including the A619 between Pickering and Whitby and the A171 at Fylingdales in North Yorkshire.

North Yorkshire Police said its officers were called to 19 accidents. In three, drivers had suffered minor injuries when their vehicles skidded off the road.

Inspector Mick Barron said: “With the adverse weather set to continue for the next few days, I would like to remind drivers to keep up to date with the latest traffic and travel information and, if conditions are severe, only to travel if the journey is essential.”

Between West Yorkshire and Saddleworth, the A635 was shut from Holmfirth to Greenfield and the A640 New Hey Road was shut from Outlane to Denshaw.

Snow also blocked a lane on the westbound carriageway of the M62 at Ainley Top, near Huddersfield and had earlier blocked a slip road from the M621 at junction 27, near Leeds.

Humberside Police had recorded 35 collisions by yesterday afternoon, but could not confirm how many were weather-related.

The hazardous driving conditions meant many councils suspended bin collections and mobile library services, and a number of train and bus services were also affected by the weather.

More than 1,000 schools and colleges across the region were closed to all but those taking GCSE and A-Level exams, while others opened late or cancelled lessons in the afternoon.

More than 600 schools were shut in West Yorkshire, with close to 200 each in Bradford and Kirklees and more than 100 in Leeds.

Around 300 were closed in South Yorkshire and more than 100 in North Yorkshire. Only a handful in East Yorkshire were affected.

The “vast majority” of exams scheduled to take place yesterday went ahead as planned across the UK, exams regulator Ofqual said.

Health services across the region were also disrupted with patient transport suspended in several areas and appointments at mobile breast screening units in Calderdale and Huddersfield cancelled.

Bosses at Huddersfield Royal Infirmary praised the “tremendous effort” of caterers Sharon Rodgers and Bev Nicholson, who walked for over three hours to get to work and keep staff and visitors fed.

Estates staff also arrived two hours early to clear the car parks of snow and ice, the Calderdale and Huddersfield NHS Foundation Trust said.

A spokesman said: “It was a great all-round effort by our staff in very difficult weather conditions.”

Sheffield Children’s Hospital said it had treated a number of youngsters who had suffered injuries while out sledging.

Sally Gibbs, clinical team leader for the emergency department at the hospital, said: “We would urge people to take care when enjoying the snow.”

Elsewhere, a school bus with 20 children on board skidded off an icy road before plunging down an embankment in Caerphilly, South Wales. No one was injured.

A section of the M6 in Cumbria was temporarily closed after a Land Rover towing a trailer of bullocks overturned.

A man was taken to hospital with broken bones in his face after he was racially attacked when he confronted a group of youngsters throwing snowballs at him and his wife in Kent. His wife was also assaulted and was treated for minor injuries. Four youths have been arrested.

The AA said it was expecting yesterday to be one of its busiest days this winter. Breakdowns were being reported at a rate of 2,000 per hour. It said one of its own patrol vehicles was written off in Surrey after it was hit by a 4X4 which went too fast round a bend and skidded on ice.