Snow hits West Midlands

Jan 5 2009 by Alison Dayani and Jasbir Authi

WORKERS returning to their offices after the Christmas break faced an arctic start to the first working week of 2009.

A wave of snow swept across the West Midlands overnight and further heavy showers followed, leading to treacherous, icy roads and pavements.

Up to two inches of snow fell across Birmingham as temperatures plummeted to -2C, with forecasters saying more sub-zero weather was on the way.

Tonight temperatures were set to drop as low as - 5C in the city and further snow is predicted for Wednesday.

Motorists were advised to slow down and take extra care during journeys as the snow turned to treacherous thick ice in places.

No major accidents were immediately reported this morning but Birmingham City Council warned people to take extra care when out and about.

But over the weekend two Midland drivers died in separate crashes and an oil tanker overturned in the hazardous freezing conditions.

A hospital security guard was killed in a two car smash in Portland Road, Bearwood, as he made his way to work at 5.30am yesterday morning

The driver, aged 77, was travelling to work at City Hospital, in Winson Green, when his green Nissan Almera collided with a white BMW and was sent careering head-long into a brick wall.

Driving instructor Gurmail Singh heard the crash outside his home in Bearwood and rushed to help the motorist with his son.

“I heard a bang, looked out the window and saw the car crumpled against the wall” said Mr Singh.

“I phoned the ambulance while my son went to help the driver, but the poor man wasn’t moving or breathing. The door had caved in from the impact of the accident and we couldn’t get to him. I kept telling the emergency services to come quickly.

“Paramedics arrived about 10 minutes later but the driver was still showing no signs of life and pronounced dead. He was a security guard at City Hospital and starting work early on Sunday morning. It’s very very sad.”

Three women and two men, all believed to be in their 20s, who were travelling in the BMW were not injured in the crash although the car was sent spinning to the other side of the road.

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