Britain faced further travel disruption on Monday as the “mini beast from the east” brought snow and ice to large areas of the UK overnight. Parts of Devon and south-west England were expected to bear the brunt of the freeze, with up to 30cm of snow in some areas compared with up to 10cm for the rest of Britain.
Eighty-two people were forced to take shelter in a school after becoming stranded on a 64-mile stretch of the A30. Highways England closed the road between junction 31 of the M5 and the A38 in Bodmin due to conditions “changing rapidly from passable to impossible”. Devon County Council confirmed the closure of dozens of schools on Monday, while train services were also affected.
It comes after hundreds of flights were cancelled and sports events called off as plummeting temperatures cast a blanket of snow across the UK on Sunday. The Highways Agency urged motorists to drive with caution and pack snow kits of blankets, food, water and a shovel in areas of heavy snowfall.
In Cornwall, an Asda manager said some stores were running low on bread and milk as customers panic-bought. In Cumbria, mountain rescue teams helped 15 people stuck in a cafe near Kirkby Stephen. Three snowploughs were dispatched to the M62 in Yorkshire as conditions were described as a “little bit wild”.
Snowfall also caused disruption across parts of Ireland, with an orange snow-ice warning extended for seven counties. In Wicklow, snowdrifts of up to 90cm were reported. Residents of coastal homes in Hemsby, Norfolk, were evacuated over fears of coastal erosion as the area braced for snow and ice overnight.
