Snow brings much of Britain to standstill

London: Snowstorms swept across the UK bringing in the country's most brutal winter in three decades which brought life to a near standstill, shutting down schools airports, disrupting train services and flights and leaving thousands of motorists stranded on highways which turned icy.

A cold snap with plunging temperatures also rained misery in much of the European mainland. Norway hit by a cold front from Siberia was among the coldest places with temperatures falling to minus 41 degrees Celsius.

Millions of people in London and south-east of England woke up to heavy snowstorms which made roads icy and dangerous. The British military was called in  overnight to help rescue motorists when up to 1,000 vehicles were caught in a massive snow-related traffic jam in Hampshire, in southern England.

Many people were evacuated to nearby rescue centres but some people slept in their vehicles overnight. The runway at London's Gatwick Airport, the second busiest in the country was closed for snow clearance which disrupted flights.

Lutyen, Birmingham and Southampton airports were also suffering flight delays and cancellation, while passengers from the city's main Heathrow airport were warned to check details as connections were running hours late.

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At least four people were reported killed in accidents  on icy-roads, the British TV channels reported without giving details.

A six-year-old Thomas Hudson was fighting for his life in hospital after falling through ice on a garden pond in Crookham Common, Berkshire. He was trapped in the water for half an hour. In Ripon, North Yorkshire, fears grew for 36-year-old Ian Simpkin, who left home on foot on Sunday morning. Details of other accident victims is yet to be announced.

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Hundreds of schools remained closed, roads have been blocked, rail services cancelled and airports are battling to reopen. Police working with Armed Forces and the fire service personnel used military trucks and Land Rovers to save thousands of drivers stranded overnight on the highway in Hampshire, with many other motorists elsewhere forced to abandon their vehicles as roads became impassable.

Arctic weather brought the North to a virtual standstill under eight inches of snow yesterday and 16 inches was forecast for parts of the South today.

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The Met Office said its weather station at Odiham, Hampshire, had recorded nine and a half inches of snow by 7am this morning.

Millions were caught up in chaos across the north of England and Scotland, which forecasters said would spread to the South today in what is already the longest cold spell since 1981. They cautioned that the freeze could go on for at least another fortnight and grit were running out.

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Millions of motorists were stuck on snow-bound roads as Manchester, Liverpool and parts of Yorkshire ground to a halt.