Snow travel chaos: as it happened

• Around 5000 schools closed
• Heathrow forced to cancel 175 flights
• Two people killed in severe weather
• Severe delays affecting at least eight rail networks
• Closures on A628 and A66 as well as a lane closure on M4
• Schools, airports and railways hit by week of snow chaos
• Email alice.philipson@telegraph.co.uk with your weather-related stories

Latest

18.00 That's all from our weather live blog today. Get home safely everyone.

17.41 South West Trains have announced that services will return to normal tomorrow after they ran a revised timetable today.

17.28 A postman has collapsed and died as he battled the snow and icy conditions on his round.

John Bircham is thought to have suffered a heart attack after he tried to push his Royal Mail van which had got stuck in a snowdrift on Exmoor on Saturday.

A Royal Mail source said: "We believe he was trying to free his van and collapsed and died from a suspected heart attack."

Exmoor was one of the worst hit areas by the snow and ice and drifting on the moor caused huge problems and led to main roads being completely blocked.

The postman's boss, Royal Mail manager Ian Frankum, said John had been a postman for 24 years and worked out of the Dulverton delivery office on Exmoor.

Mr Frankum said: "It is with great sadness that colleagues at the Dulverton delivery office learned of the death of postman John Bircham at the weekend. John was a postman for 24 years and he was a valued member of staff.

"He will be sorely missed by his colleagues and our deepest sympathies go out to his family at this sad time."

^{Reader Ian Wylie took this photo of lots of families having fun at Alexandra Palace in north London}

17.15 Heathrow is damaging London's reputation because of its failure to deal with snowy weather conditions, the chief executive of rival airport Gatwick has said.

The way in which Heathrow chooses to respond to forecasted relatively minor snowfall is to cancel, with only 24 hours’ notice, hundreds of flights,” said Stewart Wingate, chief executive of Gatwick, in a letter to Transport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin.

“This causes a significant number of passengers to suffer days of misery, as well as damaging the reputation of London as a world city.”

But Telegraph features reporter Sarah Rainey has her say:

16.50 Good news for police officers feeling chilly in the cold weather. Thames Valley officers on the front line are to be issued with woolly hats to help stave off the cold.

Around 6,000 police constables, sergeants and PCSOs are being issued with the "beanie" style hats, which are black with the word "police" or "PCSO" embroidered on them.

PC Lisa Stanhope, who is health and safety lead for the force's federation, requested the new head gear because normal hard hats do not keep officers warm.

She said: "Woolly hats have been issued to officers in specialist roles or firearms because they might need to be out in the open all day. But front line officers were never really recognised as requiring that because they are in and out of cars or buildings.

"More and more often front line police officers are used to guard murder scenes or serious incident scenes in really cold and inclement weather.

"I hope that this is going to be something that spreads across the country."

^{A father is seen pulling his son along on a sledge in the heavy snow (photo: AP)}

16.30 Everything can and should be done to ensure all children get access to a good education, the Education Secretary has said, as Britain remains gripped by snow and icy conditions.

Michael Gove told MPs during his department's questions in the Commons:

More than 5,000 schools have closed across the country today as a result of adverse weather conditions.

Thanks to changes that this Government has made, no school which ensures that it is open will be penalised if individual students cannot make it to school on that day.

I hope as a result that more and more schools will recognise that while the decision on whether or not to remain open or closed is a matter for the head teacher, everything can and should be done in order to ensure that all children get access to a good education.

16.01

15.45 It's not just Britain that's going through a cold patch:

15.14 The army had to be called in Northumberland after two buses got stuck in snow, leaving passengers stranded for hours.

Northumbria Police were called at just before 9am to the A696 near Otterburn, Northumberland, where heavy snow falls have been reported.

Two buses with passengers on board had become stuck - and were stranded until the early afternoon.

Police, local authority workers and Army personnel from the nearby Otterburn barracks were called in to help.

A Northumbria Police spokeswoman said: "Officers and the local authority attended and during early afteroon were able to get the buses moving. They have now carried on their journey without issue.

"Police were supported by Army personnel from the barracks at Otterburn.

"The buses were heated throughout and all passengers on the bus were safe and well."

The A68 and A696, as well as many minor roads to the north of the county, have been closed, and police urged people to stay off them.

^{Didier Meert sent in this photograph of his hens in the snow in his garden}

14.50 In case you missed it, Boris Johnson asks what's behind our latest batch of snowy weather in today's Telegraph:

I remember snow that used to come and settle for just long enough for a single decent snowball fight before turning to slush; I don’t remember winters like this. Two days ago I was cycling through Trafalgar Square and saw icicles on the traffic lights; and though I am sure plenty of readers will say I am just unobservant, I don’t think I have seen that before.

I am all for theories about climate change, and would not for a moment dispute the wisdom or good intentions of the vast majority of scientists.

But I am also an empiricist; and I observe that something appears to be up with our winter weather, and to call it “warming” is obviously to strain the language.

I do not have the expertise to comment on the Martini theory; I merely observe that there are at least some other reputable scientists who say that it is complete tosh, or at least that there is no evidence to support it.

14.31 Snow has forced Tony Blair to cancel a visit scheduled for tomorrow.

He was due in Newcastle to promote the Tony Blair Sports Foundation, which aims to get youngsters active and help adults become trained coaches.

But the schools he planned to visit were closed today with a strong possibility of remaining shut, and an amateur football club where he was expected was inaccessible.

The foundation said Mr Blair's visit will be re-scheduled.

14.23 Giant panda Tian Tian (which means 'Sweetie' has been enjoying the snow at Edinburgh zoo. She arrived in Scotland last December after a 5,000-mile journey from China

According to her keepers, many people do not realise that giant pandas enjoy playing in the snow whenever it appears in their native habitat, the Chinese mountains and forests.

They believe it may have been Tian Tian's first encounter with a snowman.

14.02 Rail network updates:

Eurostar, Virgin Trains, First Capital Connect, Southeastern, Southern and South West Trains are all still facing disruption.

South West Trains is still running a revised timetable and is concentrating on its mainline services.

The company said there would be no services between Ascot in Berkshire and Ash Vale in Surrey, between Virginia Water and Weybridge, or from Salisbury to Bristol.

It was also running revised timetables on other routes.

Southern said trains were unable to operate between Lewes and Haywards Heath in Sussex or between Horsham and Dorking or Reigate and Redhill in Surrey. The Southern service between South Croydon and Milton Keynes was also suspended.

Eurostar said snow and ice in the UK and northern France were leading to speed restrictions and delays on all its trains. Six services were also cancelled, with customers told they could exchange their tickets for another date.

Commuters, as one might expect, are not too happy about the delays:

13.48 The AA is expecting more than 17,000 call-outs today in what will be one of the busiest days of the winter.

Breakdowns were being reported at a rate of around 2,000 an hour with the busiest areas the Midlands, London, and the South West and South East of England.

The AA said one of its own patrol vehicles was written off when a 4x4 came round the corner too fast and skidded on ice into the vehicle.

13.37 Here's an interview with a very hard-working RAC man, helping to get commuters to and from work safely:

13.27 More road updates:

A section of the M6 in Cumbria was temporarily closed after a Land Rover vehicle towing a trailer of bullocks overturned. Neither the driver nor the bullocks are seriously injured but police said the closure could last up to an hour and warned motorists to either wait at Southwaite services or leave the motorway at junction 41 and travel on the A6 northbound.

Durham Police said strong winds were causing drifts, making for poor driving conditions.

Northumbria Police blamed drifts for the closure of the A68 north of the Stagshaw Roundabout to the Scottish Border.

^{Narrow boat Grey Hare moored below Lower Heyford church on the Oxford canal (photo: Peter Munt)}

13.16 While thousands of schools have shut, others are doing all they can to stay open so that pupils can sit scheduled exams.

In some cases, schools were only opening for exam candidates.

Union leaders said schools "almost invariably find a way" to ensure that pupils can sit papers, even if it means finding an alternative venue.

A number of exams are due to take place today, including papers for A-level psychology, A-level biology, A-level geography, GCSE geography and GCSE information and communication technology (ICT).

Brian Lightman, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL), said that individual headteachers will be making the decision about whether to stay open.

I think schools are trying very hard to do everything they can to stay open, particularly when they've got things like exams going on.

The safety of children on the school premises is paramount and headteachers have to do a risk assessment to ensure there will be proper supervision.

Where there's a worry about that, that's what informs a decision to close the school. You cannot have children unsupervised in school.

Mr Lightman said that when headteachers feel they have to close, they always take issues like exams into consideration.

There is "almost always" a member of staff who can open up the school so that classes can be laid on for students taking exams, he said.

"When there are actual external exams taking place almost invariably schools will find a way to ensure that students can take those exams."

Mr Lightman said he has heard of cases in the past where schools have found another place for students to sit papers.

^{Lauren McIntyre from Aston Clinton, Buckinghamshire sent in this photo of a fashionable pooch in the snow}

13.09 Stories of accidents in the snow are emerging from all parts of the country. Twenty children from South Wales had a lucky escape yesterday after the bus their school bus skidded off an icy road and plunged down a 50ft embankment.

The pupils, aged eight to 12, scrambled up the snowy verge in the village of Llanfach, near Caerphilly, South Wales, to safety after the bus's slide was halted by a tree.

Witness Philip Curtis, 57, said: "It's a very lucky escape.

"It helps there were so many trees to stop the bus falling further down the cliff.

"I expect there are a lot of kids in shock and there parents as well.

"The road was gritted on Friday night. But drivers normally avoid the road in these conditions because it's so slippery and steep.

The children were "shaken but uninjured", according to a GP in the village.

12.42 Nottinghamshire and England cricketer Ajmal Shahzad tweets this:

Trent Bridge is a picture this morning #snowblanket

12.27 Around four out of 10 trains were running late or were cancelled altogether today, according to Network Rail.

A spokesman for the firm said about 60 per cent of trains were running on time across the country, but some areas were worse than others and he urged people to check its website before travelling.

A spokesman for First Capital Connect said its routes were experiencing significant delays.

He said: "We have significant delays and alterations as a result of the bad weather.

"There is a more limited service between Bedford and London and disruptions on the Thameslink and Great Northern Routes."

Operator Greater Anglia confirmed it had 24 services cancelled this morning.

"We run 1,900 trains a day across the network so that's less than one per cent," a spokesman said.

And despite the snow, a Transport for London spokesman said earlier delays on the London Underground were caused by late running engineering work and not the cold weather.

12.16 Firefighters in London are warning people to stay off ice on frozen lakes after they were called to rescue two men yesterday who had fallen through ice trying to rescue their dogs.

Jim Knighton, the Brigade’s Assistant Commissioner for Operational Procedures, said:

To put it bluntly, it’s extremely fortunate we weren’t faced with a fatality yesterday. If people fall into an icy lake, hypothermia will quickly set in and they won’t survive for very long.

People with dogs, should keep them on a lead and keep a close eye on them. It’s so easy for dogs to run off and end up in difficulty as we saw in London yesterday. If a pet ends up in trouble, call 999 and stay put, rather than attempting to rescue it yourself.

Parents should also talk to their children about the dangers of going on the ice. Ice may look sturdy enough to stand on but it usually isn’t and easily breaks.

^{Water rescue demonstration (photo: London Fire Brigade)}

11.45 News of weather-related accidents are coming thick and fast.

In Middlesbrough, a teenager was badly injured while sledging and remains critically ill in hospital.

Liam Stafford, 16, hit a tree in Flatts Lane Country Park, Normanby at 1pm yesterday. He was flown by the Great North East Air Ambulance to the James Cook University Hospital in Middlesbrough suffering from head injuries.

Cleveland Police appealed for witnesses as a spokeswoman described his condition as critical but stable.

Meanwhile in Kent, a 25-year-old woman found collapsed in the snow could have died after falling in sub-zero temperatures after a night out, police said today.

The woman was discovered by a man walking his dog in Church Meadows, Deal, Kent, at 7.30am yesterday morning.

Police are still investigating the cause of death but confirmed they are looking at the possibility that the woman, who was believed to be visiting the area, got into difficulties as she made her way to her sister's house, which was near to where she was found.

A Kent Police spokesman said: "There are other possibilities we are looking out but one theory is that this is a tragic accident where a young woman was on her way home from a night out, but she didn't make it to where she was staying.

"We don't know if that was because of the cold, or she slipped or she was drunk or she became ill."

^{Snow covers the grounds around Raby Castle in County Durham (photo: PA)}

11.30 The Local Government Association has said "councils up and down the country are working hard to help schools stay open wherever possible".

Cllr David Simmonds, Chair of the LGA’s Children and Young People department, said:

Routes to large schools are gritting priorities for local authorities as they know how important keeping them open is both in terms of continuity of teaching for pupils and avoiding costly and disruptive childcare for parents.

Ultimately, headteachers, in consultation with school governors, make the final decision on whether or not to close a school. This is based on a range of local circumstances including the number of teachers who can make it into work safely, dangerous road conditions, or problems with vital supplies such as food, heating or water.

A key priority in supporting mums and dads is for schools to ensure they make any decision as soon as possible so families can make arrangements accordingly.

Councils inform parents as soon as they can through texts, local radio bulletins, local news websites and live updates on their websites or via Twitter.”

11.01 PETA has issued some guidance for all you pet owners out there:

- You should increase animals' food rations during winter because they are burning more calories to keep warm.

- Don't allow your cat or dog to roam freely outdoors. During winter, cats sometimes climb under the bonnets of cars to be near warm engines and are badly injured or killed when the car is started (To help prevent this, bang loudly on the bonnet of your car before starting the engine.)

- Animals can also become disoriented when there is snow or ice on the ground. More animals are lost during the winter than during any other season.

- Keep animals inside, particularly rabbits, puppies, kittens, elderly animals, small animals and dogs with short hair. Short-haired animals will also benefit from a warm jumper or coat on walks.

- Antifreeze, which can be deadly, attracts animals because of its sweet taste. Avoid spills, be sure always to tighten the cap securely after use and store the antifreeze in a place where animals can't get to it.

^{Snow covers the Guards Memorial in London (photo: Getty Images)}

10.50 At Heathrow, where 10 per cent of flights have been cancelled, there are reports of passengers frustrated by the lack of information given by airline staff.

Daniel Middleton was due to fly to St Petersburg in Russia via Frankfurt today for a business meeting, but will have to reschedule after the flight was delayed.

He joined a queue with around 200 other stranded passengers to find out when he can leave.

He said: "The communication between flight operators and staff is extremely poor.

"At the very least they could have staff going along the line explaining what is going on and what you have to do when you finally get to the end of the queue."

10.41 Edmund King, president of the AA, has warned of people driving so-called "snowman cars" by not clearing off the piles of snow on top of their vehicles before getting behind the wheel.

He said:

Drivers must clear the snow off their windscreens, lights and tops of their cars before setting out. This morning we have spotted lots of 'snowman cars', which are cars driving along with piles of snow on their tops.

I saw one sports car this morning on the M3 with almost a snowman of its roof but the dangerous thing was that it was being followed by a motorcycle. The hardened snow could have been a real hazard, had it fallen off in the path of the motorcycle.

We have also seen drivers peering out of small openings on their windscreen as if they were driving a tank. The other issue is the number of cars with their lights and indicators compacted with hardened snow.

Drivers need to take a broom to clear excess snow off their vehicles before setting out.

10.26 Latest update on airports and the rail network:

East Midlands airport is closed. Next update is due at 12 noon.

Heathrow has cancelled 10 per cent of its flights - around 130 in total.

Robin Hood airport near Doncaster is closed.

Flights have been suspended at Leeds Bradford airport until the runway can be cleared of snow.

East Coast, Eurostar, First Capital Connect, London Overground, Southeastern, Southern, South West Trains and Virgin trains and Gawick Express are all facing disruption. Delays include:

Delays of up to 70 minutes between Redhill and Reigate.

Buses have replaced trains between Twyford and Henley-On-Thames.

Delays between Colchester and Shenfield until further notice.

Trains between Cambridge & Stevenage may be delayed by 30 mins because of an earlier accident on on a bridge near Baldock

Shuttle service between Surbiton and Hampton Court is suspended

10.11 A rare endorsement of the Government's policy on Britain's winter weather from one reader, Geoff Robinson:

With regard to the comments that other countries cope so much better, the simple reason is that they have snow frequently every winter. For example, here its the first snow since December 2010. I would not be prepared to have tax payers money spend on machinery that is used just a few days a year.

09.57 Economists are warning the widespread heavy snow could increase the chance of Britain entering a triple-dip recession, the FT reports this morning. Spending on the high street is expected to be badly hit by the poor weather.

The British Retail Consortium said:

It’s a very challenging time for retailers anyway at the moment so anything like this which deters shoppers further doesn’t really help matters.

Consumer confidence is still very low and people have very limited spending power. There’s no sign at the moment that things will let up in the economy.

The warning comes ahead of figures due out on Friday which are expected to show the economy shrunk in the last quarter of 2012. The snow will increase the probability of the economy shrinking in the first quarter of this year, economic forecasting group Ernst & Young ITEM club said, raising the prospect of two consecutive quarters of negative growth - the definition of recession.

09.50 More problems on London trains:

09.35 A word of caution from the East of England Ambulance Service, which is urging sledgers to play safely in the snow.

A spokeswoman said there had been more than a dozen injuries across the region over the weekend.

While none were believed to be life threatening and many injuries were minor some children and adults sustained broken limbs or head injuries requiring further treatment at hospital.

She said:

People should ensure they are well wrapped up and that they wear padded clothes such as snow jackets and trousers and, if appropriate, safety gear so that even if they come off they do so without too much risk of injury.

Even on a fast downhill run they should always feel in control while sledging and make sure they have a clear path. The fun really isn't worth it if you wind up with a painful injury in A&E.

09.16 They might be able to cope with temperatures as low as -50C but it appears even husky dogs find the British weather a challenge.

Over the weekend a Siberian husky racing event at Sherwood Pines Forest Park, Notts, had to be cancelled because of the icy conditions.

Organiser Sharon Sargent said:

It wasn't an easy decision to make but when we checked the course on Friday there was a lot of ice and given the speeds the racers go at we decided it was too dangerous for the meet to go ahead.

If it was just snow on the ground then we would have been fine, but it was just compacted ice.

The safety and welfare of the riders has to come first - they travel at up to 25mph and it just wasn't safe when we inspected the course.

It is a real shame, for both us as organisers who have spent a long time setting the event up and the competitors who were looking forward to the weekend.

The meet has now been cancelled until next year.

09.05 Schools have been badly hit by the weather, with thousands of children getting an extra day off as schools remained closed in counties to the north and east of London.

In some cases, parents were asked to bring shovels to help clear paths to enable them to open.

At least 500 schools ahve shut in the West Midlands, around 120 in Northamptonshire and 100 in Surrey.

More than 90 have closed in Wales and several are shut in the Borders area of Scotland.

08.45 Telegraph reporter Conrad Quilty-Harper is trying to get on a Southeastern train to London Victoria from Denmark Hill, but to no avail. He writes:

I've been waiting here for at least 45 mins, the person next to me has been waiting since 7.45am to get to Clapham Junction.

Their website was showing cancelled trains from 6am until now. I might have to try the buses again...

Denmark Hill station

08.30 One reader, Paul Balshaw, writes in from Munich:

If it’s of any interest it’s snowing very heavily here in Munich but the airport is open, the roads are fairly clear and the transport system is functioning.

I think our Government needs to tie up with the Germans to see how they manage to beat the elements every year so as not to have the usual national disaster once a bit of snow appears!

08.10 Airport updates:

East Midlands airport is still closed with the next update expected at 10am.

London City airport is now open although its website says some flights may experience disruptions due to poor weather conditions.

Gatwick airport is operating as normal although passengers are warned to expect delays.

08.00 The latest forecast from the Met Office says as much as 20cm of snow could fall over the Pennines today although southern England should escape further heavy coverings.

Temperatures are likely to be very cold though with the thermometer struggling to get above 1C in London or above zero in eastern parts. Tonight it could reach -10C in some rural parts of the south.

Tomorrow brings further risk of snow while south west England, and even parts of Hampshire, could see between 5-10cm.

07.41 There have been further casualties of the weather after a woman was found dead having collapsed in the snow.

The woman, believed to be in her 20s, was discovered by a man walking his dog in Church Meadow, Deal, Kent, at 7.30am yesterday morning, police said. She was pronounced dead at the scene.

07.30 Some wise words from Canadian actor William Shatner:

07.24 A list of road closures so far this morning has been put out by the Highways Agency:

A66 is closed in both directions between the junctions with the A685 (Brough) and the A1 (Scotch Corner) due to snow. The road is not expected to open for several hours.

The A628 is closed in both directions between the junctions with the A57 at Hollingworth and the A616 at Flouch due to heavy snow.

Southbound access to the A282 from the A206 is blocked.

07.10 The Met Office has issued severe weather warnings across large swathes of the country. Orange 'be prepared' warnings, the second highest level of alert, have been issued for snow across Yorkshire, North East England, North West England and Scotland.

Yellow 'be aware' warnings, the third highest level of alert, are in place forice across London and the South East, South West England, East England and Wales, while yellow warnings for snow have been issued for the East Midlands, Northern Ireland, East England and Scotland.

The warnings are vaild for the entire day.

07.00 Anyone travelling by rail today should be braced for another day of delays and cancellations.

East Coast, Eurostar, First Capital Connect, London Overground, Southeastern, Southern, South West Trains and Virgin trains are all facing disruption.

In London, the tube has been badly affected by the weather. There are severe delays on the Circle, Hammersmith & City, Jubilee and Metropolitan lines while the London Overground, District, Piccadilly and Metropolitan lines are part suspended.

The Southeastern network is experiencing delays of up to 30 minutes while East Coast trains between London Kings Cross and Berwick-Upon-Tweed are also subject to half-hour delays.

Buses are replacing trains between Brighton and Three Bridges and Gatwick Express is warning some services may be delayed or cancelled and are advising passengers to check their website.

South West Trains and Virgin Trains are both running amended services.

^{(Photo: Adam Gasson)}

06.45 Sadly, the winter weather continued to take its toll yesterday.

One person was killed in Essex in an accident on the A12 in Essex last night, and drivers are being warned today to take extra care on journeys.

While in Middlesbrough, a teenager was left fighting for his life after suffering head injuries in a sledging accident.

06.35 It looks like further travel chaos could hit Britain today with several airports and rail networks announcing delays and cancellations. Firstly, here's an update on air travel:

Heathrow says it expects one in ten flights to be cancelled today, with flights scheduled after 4pm most likely to be affected due to low visibility.

East Midlands airport has closed its runway until at least 7.30am.

London City Airport also has their runway closed, but it's expected to open at 7.30am.

06.30 Hello and welcome to our live coverage of the weather situation in Britain.