Slight thaw brings hope but more bone-chilling nights on the way

Travel information and school closures

The slight easing in conditions gave hope of progress in the battle to supply enough grit, power supplies and food, but the death toll from weather-related incidents rose to at least 29.

Weather forecaster Julian Mayes, of the MeteoGroup, said temperatures had risen above zero and predictions of heavy snow had not materialised although some areas including the Pennines could see as much as five centimetres (2 in) of fresh snow overnight.

"Generally things have got a good deal less severe," he said. "The next problem is going to come on Tuesday night, when a band of snow is going to come into Wales and south-west England, though hopefully it will not come too far inland, and may then turn to rain."

In Yorkshire, a slow thaw was expected to continue during the daytime as the weather remained grey and dull in the coming days.

Temperatures were likely to fall back towards or below freezing overnight but no more major snowfall was expected.

National Grid yesterday lifted its latest gas supply alert – its third such warning in a week – after more supplies came in from the market.

It was imposed on Saturday after an imminent shortfall appeared to be looming.

A man died yesterday after he attempted to save his two dogs which had strayed onto ice on the River Tees.

Attempts were made to resuscitate the man as he was pulled from the river near Stockton-on-Tees by the Coastguard.

He was taken to James Cook Hospital in Middlesbrough, but later died.

Yorkshire Water said it was dealing with four times the normal amount of call-outs to burst pipes.

British Gas said it had experienced the busiest week on record with a 40 per cent increase in the number of calls received.

A spokeswoman said: "We've got engineers working around the clock and everyone is working flat out.

"People's heating systems aren't coping and people have had things like frozen pipes. We are prioritising people with no heating and hot water, and those in ill-health or who are elderly."

Chief executive of the Met Office John Hirst yesterday defended the organisation's inaccurate seasonal forecasts, which suggested that this would be a mild winter.

He said: "These things get misunderstood. To be honest they are sold as probabilities and the seasonal forecasts which are young and developing aren't part of our operational suite.

"All of the UK's contingency planning and exercises work on our five-day forecasts which are massively reliable."

Schools Secretary Ed Balls yesterday urged schools to stay open so children can take exams in spite of the cold weather.

There have been fears that the snow and ice will lead to chaos for this week's GCSE and A-level assessments.

He said: "Headteachers, supported by their local authorities, are best placed to make the right decision about school closures in their area. They know the local situation best and can consider a whole range of factors and it would be wrong for me to try to second-guess decisions for individual schools or local authorities from Whitehall.

"But it is vital that schools do everything they possibly can to stay open so that valuable lessons are not missed, exams disrupted or life made very difficult for working parents.

"It is important they take a balanced judgment and do not overstate the risks of playground slips or reduced supervision.

Ofqual and the exam bodies have assured me they are determined to ensure that no pupil is unfairly treated because of this extreme weather." In Leeds hundreds of people took part in a snowball fight on Woodhouse Moor yesterday arranged via the Facebook social networking website in spite of warnings from police amid indications as many as 10,000 people could attend. In the event far fewer took part and the event passed without disorder.

Price fears over vegetable harvest

Farmers are struggling to harvest vegetables in the big freeze, which will lead to higher food prices and damage small businesses, it was claimed yesterday.

Stephen Alambritis, chief spokesman for the Federation of Small Businesses, said: "Our members have had a run on vegetables and food, which they were pleased about because it brought them in some money – but the replacements have been thin on the ground.

"There is concern that farmers have not been able to bring the harvest in for such items as potatoes, sprouts and cabbages which reduces the amount available to stores – and pushes up prices.

"Supermarkets may be able to hold prices for now but small businesses will have to pass increases on to their customers, which is damaging for business."