Welcome to North Wales Live's breaking news blog for March 18, 2019.
We will be bringing you regular updates throughout the day of all the breaking news and sport from across North Wales.
We will have pictures, video, tweets and comments covering the latest North Wales traffic, weather forecasts and anything else.
We will be bringing you regular updates throughout the day of all the breaking news and sport from across North Wales.
If you have some information you can contact us by following our Twitter feed @northwaleslive - the official North Wales Live account - real news in real time.
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Farmers blast fire service over handling of massive mountain blaze
Farmers have blasted the fire service over the way a major mountain blaze was tackled last summer. They accused the service of rejecting their offers of help and ignoring their advice as wildfires consumed around 700 acres of Llantysilio mountain near the Horseshoe Pass. The Horseshoe Pass Graziers’ Association also criticised the fire service, claiming “insufficient care” was taken to ensure a first smaller blaze was fully extinguished.
Traffic - A483
Very slow traffic on A483 Wrexham Bypass Northbound before A55 J38 (Posthouse roundabout).
Universal Credit, PIP and ESA assessments are merging - the DWP explains how this works
The Department for Work and Pensions has clarified its plans for a merged disability benefit assessment. It comes after Work and Pensions Secretary Amber Rudd announced earlier this month that a series of reforms would “change the landscape” of the benefits system. One of the proposed changes is the combining of assessment processes for Personal Independence Payment (PIP), Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) and Universal Credit into one integrated service.
Traffic - A494
Slow traffic on A494 Mold Road Eastbound before A55 J33B (Ewloe).
Accident - M56
If you’re commuting along the M56 this morning be aware there are long delays due to an earlier accident.
The westbound carriageway at J14 Hapsford (Cheshire) is very slow due to a crash. The vehicles involved are now on the hard shoulder but due to earlier lane closures there are queues beyond J12 for Runcorn. All lanes are back open. Also slightly slower than usual heading eastbound with motorists slowing to look at the crash opposite.
Weather forecast
North Wales will enjoy some respite from the wild weather experienced this weekend. Forecasters are predicting that conditions will be much calmer throughout the week following a weekend where communities were hit by flooding and strong winds. More than 130mm of rain fell in Capel Curig on Saturday - double the UK average for the whole of March. But this week, the rain levels are set to reduce while winds will also die down.
Bore da
Bore da and welcome to our live blog. I’m Sarah Hodgson and I’ll be with you with all the latest news, weather and travel updates from across North Wales. Tweet me @sarahlhodgson1, get in touch on Facebook (Sarah Hodgson Daily Post) or email me sarah.hodgson@reachplc.com
