Flights are cancelled and roads closed as up to 30cm of snow fell on Sunday, with further ice warnings issued for Monday.

Motorists brave the snow in Worcester, as heavy snowfall across parts of the UK is causing widespread disruption, closing roads and grounding flights at an airport.
Image: Motorists brave the snow in Worcester amid widespread travel disruption

By David Mercer, News Reporter

Heavy snow has brought major travel disruption across the UK as severe weather left thousands of homes without power.

And there are warnings of more snow and ice on Monday.

Flights, rail services and roads were badly affected after a thick blanket of snow covered large parts of England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland on Sunday.

Up to 30cm of snow was recorded in Sennybridge in Wales, as winds of more than 80mph battered the south coast of England.

The Met Office issued an amber alert - its second highest warning - for snow across parts of Wales, the Midlands and northern and eastern England on Sunday.

Snow has fallen all over the UK
Video: Chaos amongst the fun and frolics in the snow

Forecasters have issued further warnings of snow and ice for the start of the working week, with temperatures expected to fall as low as minus 15C overnight in parts of Wales.

The RAC said it expects to attend 11,000 breakdowns on "Black Ice Monday" after being called to 8,000 incidents on Sunday.

Some 24,000 homes were without power across Oxfordshire, Wiltshire and Berkshire, electricity supplier SSE said, after snow and wind caused damage to its overhead network.

The Port of Calais was closed after a P&O ferry carrying 300 people ran aground as it attempted to depart for Dover in a storm.

Flights were temporarily suspended at Birmingham and Luton airports, while delays and cancellations were also reported at Stansted, Cardiff and East Midlands.

Thousands of pupils will get the day off on Monday after Birmingham Council said all of its schools will be closed due to the bad weather.

Two girls make a snowman on Primrose Hill in London
Image: Two girls make a snowman on Primrose Hill in London

Heavy snowfall forced the closure of the M1 motorway near Leicestershire and the A5 in Shropshire. Motorists were also left stranded on the M4, the A34 in Oxfordshire and the A5 in Milton Keynes.

Heart of England NHS trust, which represents hospitals in Birmingham and Solihull, was forced to put an appeal out for 4x4 drivers to help stranded nurses get to hospitals.

Rail services across England and Wales were disrupted, including CrossCountry trains which were cancelled between Birmingham and Bristol after a landslide caused by the bad weather.

A road closed sign in snow covered Ironbridge in Shropshire, as heavy snowfall across parts of the UK is causing widespread disruption, closing roads and grounding flights at an airport.
Image: The snow forced the road closures in Ironbridge in Shropshire
Traffic is forced to drive in one lane as snow covers most of the A470 dual carriageway near Merthyr Tydfil, Wales
Image: Motorists struggle through the snow on the A470 dual carriageway near Merthyr Tydfil, Wales
A train through the snow near Gerrards Cross in Buckinghamshire
Image: A train on snow-covered tracks near Gerrards Cross in Buckinghamshire

Sky News weather presenter Isobel Lang said: "Sunday night will see the snow become patchy and tend to die out across central areas although wintry showers will become more widespread across Scotland.

"Monday will bring rain, sleet and snow and strong winds to parts of southeast England, with a risk of travel disruption."

More from UK

A less severe yellow warning for ice has been issued for south east England on Monday, with forecasters predicting snow in parts of Kent, Sussex, Surrey and Hampshire.

A further yellow warning for snow and ice has been issued for northern Scotland and Northern Ireland, with up to 10cm of snow forecast in some higher areas.

More top stories