fashions: Ice-bound Britain is paralysed by the biggest snowfall for years . . . and grit and gas supplies are already running low

By Ray Massey and Paul Sims

Going nowhere: The A3 in Horndean, Hampshire remains closed this morning after 1,000 motorists were stuck in their cars overnight and hundreds of vehicles were abandoned

● Army drafted in to rescue 1,000 stranded motorists
● Boy, 6, fighting for his life after falling into icy garden pond
● Councils warn they have little more than a day's grit supply
● Man dies after car spins out of control on icy road

Up to 1,000 stranded motorists had to be rescued by the Army today after some of the heaviest snowfalls in 30 years left drivers trapped in their cars overnight.

Among those stranded without food and water on the A3 in Hampshire was a heavily-pregnant woman and her baby daughter.

Millions of people across Britain were unable to get to work this morning as snowstorms caused massive disruptions on the roads and railways.

Thousands of schools remain closed, while major airports have been forced to ground flights as snow ploughs try desperately to clear runways of snow and ice.

The Army, drafted in to save 1,000 drivers stranded on the A3, used military trucks and Land Rovers to rescue those trapped in a ten-mile jam on the trunk road at Waterlooville.

But some of the trapped motorists claimed they received no help at all and that 'no one knew what was going on'.

Carla Holt said she and her 13-month-old daughter Lily-May were stuck for 12 hours in the freezing conditions. She said she received no support from the police overnight and was only able to leave the road when it was partially cleared at 6.30am today.

The 23-year-old said: 'We went through hell. I am eight months pregnant, I couldn't go to the toilet all night, I couldn't warm the bottle up for my baby daughter. It was very frightening.

'There were loads of cars parked up, just on the motorway. No-one knew what was going on - there was no-one to help.

'We didn't see any police, we've heard that the Army is out but we didn't see anyone - it's not very good really."
She had set off for Heathrow Airport in West Sussex at 5.30pm yesterday and didn't arrive until 8am today.

Ms Holt's father, Mark, attempted to reach his daughter but was prevented from driving up the A3 beause it had been closed because of the weather.

He said: 'It took my daughter 15 hours to get home and no-one came to help her, they didn't see anyone.'

Collision: A woman is taken to hospital with neck injuries after her car span out of control in County Durham this morning. Her car hit a telegraph pole on the A67 near Winston

Another stranded motorist, named only as Clive, had been trying to travel from Guildford to Locks Heath.
He told BBC Radio Solent that he had been stuck in his car overnight.

'There must be hundreds and hundreds of cars stuck,' he said. 'People have been just turning their engines off and falling asleep.

'I just pulled a couple of jackets over me and tried to sleep. The worst thing was no-one knew what was going on.'
The coldest places in Britain last night were Aboyne, Aberdeenshire, where temperatures dropped to -13C (9F) and Marham, Norfolk, where the mercury dropped to -10.3C (14F), according to forecasters Meteogroup.

The Met Office said its weather station at Odiham, Hampshire, had recorded nine-and-a-half inches (24cm) of snow by 7am this morning. A spokesman said snow was still falling there and was likely to continue until lunchtime, boosting the depth to as much as 12in (30cm).

A spokesman for West Berkshire Council said nearly 12 inches (30cm) had fallen near Reading, while the Scottish ski resort of Aviemore has had nearly 19in (48cm).

A spokesman for the Met Office said this morning that parts of the South could see another 15cm of snow falling today, with 5-10cm expected in London.

He warned that as night falls the skies will clear and plunging temperatures would lead to 'treacherous' icy conditions.
'We are looking at temperatures of -2C in London with parts of England and Wales falling to -8C or -9C,' he said.

'It's going to be treacherous, with widespread ice. There will be no let up in the cold weather for the next ten days.'

An elderly man died after his Morris Minor spun out of control on an icy road in Titchfield, Hampshire yesterday evening.

In Oxford, a six-year-old boy is fighting for his life in hospital after falling though an icy pond at his home. Thomas Hudson is thought to have been trapped in the water for as long as half an hour.

Dangerous conditions: Motorists brave the M4 motorway near the Leigh Delamere services in Wiltshire this morning during what would normally be peak commuter time

Stranded: A van lies in a ditch today after sliding off the road near Hermitage in Berkshire

In Preston, Lancashire, a 10-year-old girl had a miraculous escape after a car skidded on ice and flew over her head, missing her by inches.

Emilie Pease was playing in the snow on her drive when the Vauxhall Vectra collided with a wall, flipped into the air and landed next to her last night.

The car then pushed over a neighbour's Nissan Micra before coming to a halt on its side inches from the front window. Another car then collided with the Vauxhall.

Emilie's mother Alison, 37, said: 'My heart was in my mouth when I saw the car fly over my daughter's head.My neighbour Sue was screaming. It was just awful.'

In Ripon, North Yorkshire, fears are growing for 36-year-old Ian Simpkin, who has not been seen since leaving home on foot on Sunday morning.

Grounded: Snow settles on a British Airways airplane at Gatwick Airport where all flights have been suspended today

Determined: A man attempts to cycle through the snow in Farnborough, Hampshire today

Millions were caught up in chaos across the north of England and Scotland during what is now the longest cold spell since 1981. Forecasters have warned that the freeze could go on for at least another 15 days, making it the worst for a century.

Police across the UK are warning people not to drive unless their journeys are essential.

Several forces have also expressed concerns about people phoning the emergency services regarding snowball incidents.

A spokesperson for Wiltshire Police is urging residents to only dial 999 in a real emergency.

'Historically, a large proportion of calls received have been in connection with snowballing incidents which is clearly an avoidable demand on our resources and can easily be avoided with the use of common sense,' he said.

A still life in white: Houseboats on the canal in Sale are frozen at their moorings as pedestrians pick their way through up to six inches of snow on the banks

Chaos: A car abandoned by its driver at Hamble station, Southampton, following heavy snowfall

A turn for the worse: Gridlocked traffic in Manchester as the rush hour becomes slush hour

Tempers flared and a man was arrested after passengers at a UK airport were prevented from leaving a grounded plane.

Travellers were kept on the plane for two-and-a-half hours because the icy apron at Durham Tees Valley Airport was too dangerous to walk on.

Enlarge A 39-year-old from Hartlepool was arrested on suspicion of using threatening behaviour on an aircraft.

A Durham Police spokesman said: 'The arrested man's concerns were genuine, but his behaviour was unacceptable.
'He was interviewed and given a caution.'

Millions of motorists were stuck on snow-bound roads as Manchester, Liverpool and parts of Yorkshire ground to a halt last night. Dual carriageways were reduced to single lanes as snowploughs struggled to cope and the RAC said it was dealing with 1,400 breakdowns every hour.

The sheer scale of the disruption was badly hitting councils' abilities to keep roads open last night with some reduced to 'borrowing' salt and grit from their neighbours.

The mine which supplies road salt for most of the UK was working overtime, but there were fears that lorries delivering it would be caught up in the road chaos.

There were also concerns about the impact of the freeze on the economy. The Trades Union Congress urged bosses to let their staff work from home wherever possible rather than struggle into work in dangerous conditions.

Business groups have warned that the cost of absenteeism to the economy because of this week’s snowfalls could reach £2 billion.

The Federation of Small Businesses estimated that about 10 per cent of the 30-million strong workforce was unable to get in yesterday, costing the economy an estimated £600 million alone.