Birmingham brought to a halt by snow

Feb 5 2009 By Mark Cowan, Kat Keogh and Victoria Farncombe

PARTS of Birmingham were brought to a halt today by the latest blast of arctic-style snow which turned many major roads into treacherous skid pans.

Drivers had to battle into work through heavy snow on ice-covered routes where gritting operations had failed.

Long queues quickly built up and some bus services were operating on a restricted basis, with buses trying to avoid dangerous minor roads.

Birmingham International Airport was forced to close its runway, cancel seven flights and divert two in-bound flights, though the airport remained open.

The runway was expected to re-open later in the morning and airport bosses advised passengers to check with their airlines but expect delays.

Rail bosses said the weather had only had a minimal impact on its early morning train services, but warned of delays for travellers heading for London.

But a total of 110 Birmingham schools were closed by 8.30am, with 430 shut across the Midlands.

Traffic was reduced to a crawl in many parts of the Black Country, particularly in the hilly areas.

The AA described sections of the M5 and M6 as “hazardous”. Traffic was almost at a standstill at times on the M6 between Hilton Park Services and Junction 7 at Great Barr.

On the M54 north of Wolverhampton snow ploughs were drafted in to clear carriageways.

Local weather forecasters said up to 10cms of snow had fallen across the West Midlands by 6am and a further 2-5cms was expected throughout the day.

More light snow was expected later tonight.