Heavy snow returns and brings more travel misery
Motorists and air and rail passengers in the West Midlands have been plunged into more travel misery as fresh snowfalls wrecked journey plans.
Birmingham International Airport's runway was closed due to snow but has reopened. Further delays are still expected and passengers have been urged to contact their airline for further information. Some flights have been diverted away from Birmingham Airport.
Herefordshire Council reported that the county had been hit by drifts of up to 6ft (1.83m) in some areas of high ground.
A council spokesman said: "Gritting and snowplough teams have been battling to try to treat the A roads as a priority since 10.30pm last night.
"The teams will tackle B roads as soon as the A roads are clear. Currently A roads are passable with care but other roads, particularly the minor and unclassified ones, are hazardous."
West Midlands Ambulance Service said Herefordshire and Worcestershire were worst hit by the fresh snow, while Warwickshire, Shropshire and the Black Country had also seen significant falls.
The service's head of specialist operations, Steve Wheaton, said: "It is absolutely vital that people who are out and about take care and don't become an accident statistic.
"If you do have to travel by road, please ensure you take warm clothing, sensible footwear, a shovel and snow chains, if you have them, with you. Our staff are having to use those same roads to get to 999 emergencies."
Thousands of children in the West Midlands were handed another day off. In Birmingham, more than 150 schools were shut, although some were open only for students taking examinations.
Dozens of other schools in Staffordshire, Worcestershire and Warwickshire also failed to open, while 17 schools in Coventry were also closed to students not sitting exams.
In Herefordshire, just 10 schools managed to open their doors and 90 were closed, while 36 in Dudley and 31 in Sandwell were also shut.
