Party's over for the inn crowd trapped by snow

GUESTS snowed in after celebrating New Year at a Yorkshire pub were finally able to begin leaving yesterday as the big freeze continued to bring chaos to the region.

Some 30 revellers had gathered to welcome 2010 at North Yorkshire’s Tan Hill Inn, England’s highest pub, at a get together organised by Leeds University Cross Country Club.

They were later joined for what one party goer called “the ultimate lock-in” by 17 people rescued from the nearby A66 which was closed between Bowes and Brough as snow blanketed the Pennines.

The guests ended up stranded for three days but refused to let the heavy snow – 7ft deep in places – dampen the party spirit.

Guest Paul Manson, from Alnwick, Northumberland, arrived on Wednesday night with his fiance.

He said: “It was not too bad. The weather was cold and windy. But everyone was chipping in. Everyone was peeling potatoes, washing up, moving cars and keeping the generators going.

“I was picked to do the quiz and everyone was doing personal entertainment. A number of people had to get back to work on Monday including someone starting a new job. But I am not that desperate.”

Pub disc jockey Peter Richardson said: “We’ve kept our spirits up. It’s actually been quite heart-warming.”

The Tan Hill Inn stands 1,700ft (520m) above sea level in the Yorkshire Dales and Mr Richardson said the isolation had bred a

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