Frozen Britain for Christmas

Heavy snowfalls have brought Britain to a halt in the last five days, as up to 25cm of snow blanketed parts of Scotland, North Wales, Northern Ireland and the West Country.

Snow showers have also reached central London and some flights from Heathrow were delayed. Thousands of passengers were stranded at the airport for four days and slept on departure lounge floors, as the airport could not deal with extreme weather.

Meanwhile, the East Coast Line, one of the country’s main railway arteries, was suspended, leaving passengers at King’s Cross staring at a departure board flashing up cancellations. Hundreds spent the night in the freezing cold waiting for Eurostar trains, while the Red Cross handed out blankets to keep passengers warm.

The great queue of St Pancras is slowly decreasing now, as passengers are leaving ‘on a first come, first served’ basis.

The situation at Heathrow airport seems more difficult; even though it has reopened its second runaway yesterday in the evening, many families were told today they will not get home for Christmas as BAA admitted it could not clear the massive backlog at Heathrow before Friday.

Even transport in mainland Europe has been heavily disrupted by the snow and freezing temperatures and hundreds of thousands of passengers in continental Europe contemplate Christmas ruined and holidays wrecked by the heavy snow.