Snow causes transport chaos in Britain
Britain has been hit by travel chaos as much of the country was covered by a thick blanket of snow at the height of the morning rush-hour.
More than 30 flights were cancelled at Stansted Airport after the runway was closed to allow workers to clear the snow.
Luton Airport had to be closed for up to four hours due to the bad weather and one lane of the M25 motorway was blocked by heavy snow in Hertfordshire.
"We're doing all we can to get the runway open," a Stansted spokeswoman said.
"They're out there clearing the snow, but it is still snowing - if it comes down as quickly as they clear it, the runway could cover again."
All morning flights were cancelled at London City Airport, and the runway at Gatwick Airport was shut briefly but has reopened.
At Heathrow, 26 flights were cancelled, although the airport and its runways remained opened.
The Highways Agency (HA) put 400 salt-spreading vehicles on standby and all England's motorways and major roads were treated before the snow arrived.
Schools were closed in the central city of Birmingham and Southern Railways warned that there could be delays because of points failures.
Network Rail said train lines in Kent and Sussex were most vulnerable to snow and ice because they take their power from the rails rather than overhead lines.
Special trains will be used to de-ice the tracks and spray anti-freeze while heaters will stop points from freezing and causing delays.
Snow plough trains will be deployed if there is heavy snow and a helicopter will be used to spot the worst-affected areas.
"We can't guarantee there won't be any disruption, but we're doing everything we can to try and keep things running as smoothly as possible," a Network Rail spokesman said.
There were severe delays and closures across the London Underground system, with the Bakerloo, Jubilee and Metropolitan lines among the worst affected.
- Reuters