The heaviest snow seen in Britain for decades left much of the country at a standstill yesterday with airports closed, roads impassable and train stations struggling to cope with the extra number of passengers.

Blizzards affected much of the country, especially on the East Coast from Scotland down to the South East, with the AA reporting that it had attended 11,300 breakdowns and the RAC saying that it was seeing unprecedented levels of call volumes for this time of the year.

The weather did cause at least two fatal accidents after a motorcyclist was killed in a crash involving a lorry in West Sussex, while in Yorkshire a woman died after she was pulled out of an icy lake at Pontefract Park.

The current situation sees four out of 10 train services cancelled with more offering a reduced timetable and the Eurostar also operating a significantly reduced timetable. Transport Secretary Philip Hammond, has ordered a review of how transport operators have reacted to the crisis after being criticised by Labour MPs, who told him to "get a grip".

A hastily conducted survey by Peninsula, found that almost 40% of workers could not get into work this morning while a further 43% were late in arriving. Its managing director Peter Done said: "Snowfall was the major issue yesterday, but the big problem for businesses today is the icy conditions left behind."

http://www.yorkshireeveningpost.co.uk/news/Snow-watch-RAC-warns-of.6647765.jp