Woman dies after falling into freezing lake

A WOMAN died yesterday after falling into a freezing lake at Pontefract Racecourse.

The woman was pulled from the West Yorkshire lake and taken to Pontefract General Infirmary where she died, a police spokesman said. The area was cordoned off for it to be examined. The circumstances of the death are being investigated, but the death is not being treated as suspicious.

Meanwhile, travellers in Yorkshire have endured more misery, with the wintry weather wrecking air and rail schedules and causing hazardous driving conditions. In South Yorkshire, heavy snowfall that began yesterday evening and continued throughout the night resulted in widespread disruption across the region.

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Around four to 10 inches (10-25cm) of snow fell generally, and up to eight to 12 inches (20-30cm) on high ground, and Sheffield City Council said the conditions of the roads and footways were "bad, if not worse, than at any time last winter". Parts of the county were brought to a standstill, with around 300 schools closed and bus services suspended in Sheffield, Rotherham and Doncaster.

South Yorkshire Police advised motorists to stay off the roads as they tried to deal with several incidents in the area. A force spokeswoman said: "Police 4x4 vehicles were out overnight trying to assist with clearing roads and dealing with yesterday's gridlock as cars struggled to move anywhere. Sheffield City Council has been out this morning attempting to clear tram routes, some of which are running limited services."

There was also disruption to flights at Robin Hood Airport and passengers were advised to check with the airport before travelling.

Humberside Police urged motorists not to drive unless absolutely necessary. A spokeswoman said the force had experienced a significant number of calls regarding the weather and asked people to call only if absolutely essential. She said: "The weather conditions have left a number of roads difficult and with poor visibility in some places. Rural roads, especially in north Lincolnshire, have been badly affected."

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There were no reports of any major incidents but the A164 and routes around Bridlington experienced problems this morning and were described as having poor driving conditions. Only one lane on the Humber Bridge northbound was open to traffic.

Almost 300 schools across East Yorkshire and northern Lincolnshire were closed on Wednesday. Freezing conditions and heavy snowfall caused more problems on the roads across North Yorkshire.

More than 100 schools were closed and roads in the county, which included the A1 into and out of York and various roads around the city centre, all experienced problems due to snowfall. In West Yorkshire, more than 100 schools closed and there were travel problems across the region, with Northern Rail suspending its train services between Leeds and Sheffield. A severe weather warning for Yorkshire and Humber remains in place.