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The police have declared a major incident as drivers get stuck in treacherous snowy conditions across Cumbria.
Agencies are responding to multiple reports of vehicles stuck in traffic due to heavy snowfall in the South Lakes area, particularly in Bowness and Grizedale, says Cumbria Police.
Police are urging residents to only drive where necessary as an amber snow warning covers large swathes of the region.
Superintendent Andy Wilkinson. Cumbria Constabulary, said: “Agencies across Cumbria are working together in response to the impact that heavy snowfall is continuing to have on the county’s roads.
“We are working at pace, to help clear roads so those currently affected can get moving.“I would urge anybody considering travelling in Cumbria tonight, to only do so if necessary. The cold temperatures forecast will make road conditions even more difficult.”
Fresh yellow and amber weather warnings have been issued by the Met Office as temperatures are forecast to possibly drop to a low of -12C overnight in Scotland, where many awoke to severe frozen conditions this morning.
The warnings, for snow and ice, cover much of the Midlands, Yorkshire, the North West and Wales.
Santa stranded in his grotto due to snowfall
Where is Rudolph when you need him?
David Holdsworth, 61, who works as Santa Claus, is stuck in his grotto at Heyes Garden World, Ambleside, after a failed attempt to get home to Cartmel 22 miles away. The A591 remains blocked with multiple closures.
Mr Holdsworth says he and his colleagues usually get picked up from work by a shared van service, but after an hour of trying to get onto the road to travel home, they accepted defeat.
He said: “Santa’s been stranded. It’s chock-a-block. It’s chaos.
“I’m stuck in my grotto, I’m just laid down trying to keep warm. There’s no heating, I’m going to stay here and see if the roads open.”
Mr Holdsworth says his fellow Santa Claus, Keith, is with 12 other colleagues in the centre’s café.
The 61-year-old who supports Liverpool says he is going to pass the time by watching Newcastle Versus Manchester United.
“I might be a grumpy Santa tomorrow,” he added.
Santa is stranded in his grotto with no viable routes home as roads across Cumbria remain gridlocked
Cumbria police declare major incident and urge people not to travel after heavy snowfall
Cumbria Police has urged people not to travel to the county on Sunday after it declared a major incident because of heavy snowfall on the county’s roads.
The force said a multi-agency response was ongoing on Saturday evening to “minimise the challenges that heavy snowfall is continuing to have on the county’s road network”.
It has urged people not to travel to the county on Sunday unless necessary, adding that some highway teams had been “verbally abused” as they attempted to deal with the situation.
In a post on social media, Cumbria Police said: “A yellow weather warning for ice is in place for tomorrow morning which will have a continued impact on Cumbria’s roads.
“We would also urge people not to travel to the county tomorrow unless necessary.”
Cumbria snow: Cars abandoned and roads bottlenecked as police declare major incident
Motorist urged to ‘slow down'
The Central Motorway Police Group has urged motorists to drive safely and slow down on the icy roads.
The unit covers police forces in Staffordshire and the West Midlands.
“There is wide spread snow on the motorway network, please slow down! We are dealing with a large number of traffic collisions caused by the weather,” it said.
Driver stuck on the highway for 5 hours
A driver said he was stuck between Ambleside and Windermere for more than five hours with his family as heavy snow brought the traffic to a standstill.
The driver, who wished to remain anonymous, told the PA news agency: “We’ve had no communication from any of the authorities and we’ve not seen a single gritter trying to free anyone.
“My wife and four-year-old had to walk two miles - there were cars driving on the wrong side of the road that caused more jams.”
Cumbria Police said the M6 southbound between J38 and J37 was blocked due to jackknifed lorries and that the A595 between Millom and Furness was impassable.
Disabled woman stranded in snow
A woman was stranded for four hours after getting stuck in the snow.
Linda Reynolds, 70, was travelling with her grandchildren and husband when they got stuck in the snow travelling from Ambleside to Cartmel.
“I have an automatic car, because I’ve had a stroke- it was jumping into higher gears, it was spinning around.
“Four or five men were trying to push me up this hill.
“I was in sheer panic, I wanted to cry,” she explained.
The worried grandmother said she was advised by police to go to a nearby hotel since she relies on a mobility scooter which could not get her through the snow to the refuge centre at Ambleside Parish Centre.
The police and RAC could not get their cars to her, adds Ms Reynolds.
The 70-year-old says she is lucky to be able to stay in the Langdale Chase Hotel but is worried about paying the bill for the stay next month, however she had no other option since all routes home were blocked.
She says her other daughter and grandchildren who were travelling in a different car walked an hour away to Ambleside Parish Centre who are providing emergency shelter.
All travellers have had to abandon their cars in the road.
Met office says 5-10cm snow in fourth yellow warning
Met office has issued a yellow warning for snow across eastern parts of England is in place until 7am today.
It was the fourth yellow warning, this time for snow.
It said “heavy snow may cause disruption with 5-10cm of snow expected for 2-3hours”.
Today’s weather forecast
Most people in England and Wales can expect clouds, with patchy rain and hill snow, say the Met Office.
Elsewhere fog and frost will turn into to sunny spells and a few wintry showers.
Resident speaks of ‘heaviest snow’ experience in eight years
An Ambleside resident in England said the snow was the heaviest he had seen during eight years of living in the Cumbrian towns.
Harrison Ward said lots of people had abandoned their vehicles in Ambleside as they “tried to find refuge”.
Mr Ward, who works as an outdoor cook, told the PA news agency: “It really feels like you’re walking through the Alps or some ski resort at the moment.”
He added: “Once a few cars have stopped or crashed or been abandoned, then it all comes to a halt.
“So we’ve seen complete gridlock through the town with lots of wheel spinning going on - there’s a real smell of burnt clutches in the air.
“Some vehicles moved about 100 metres in an hour’s time.”
Watch - Cumbria snow: Cars abandoned and roads bottlenecked as police declare major incident
Multi-agency response to ‘minimise challenges’ as people asked not to travel
Cumbria Police said a multi-agency response was ongoing to “minimise” the challenges that heavy snowfall is continuing to have on the county’s road network.
People have been urged to avoid travelling to the county on Sunday unless necessary after it declared a major incident because of heavy snowfall on the county’s roads.
It also mentioned that some highway teams had been “verbally abused” as they attempted to deal with the situation.
In a post on social media, Cumbria Police said: “A yellow weather warning for ice is in place for tomorrow morning which will have a continued impact on Cumbria’s roads.
“We would also urge people not to travel to the county tomorrow unless necessary.”
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2023-12-03 07:28:20Z
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