Snow wreaks misery in West Midlands again with more to come

A fresh blanket of snow fell overnight on Friday with drivers facing treacherous driving conditions yesterday and many roads blocked before 7am

Flights to and from Birmingham Airport were suspended yesterday morning with passengers being advised to check the status of their flight with the airline or visit its website.

In Staffordshire, the A515 was closed off outside Kings Bromley and the Orbital Route in Cannock was blocked at around 6am by three lorries which skidded out of control.

Power cuts and travel disruption continued to blight Britain today, as more snow falls across the country on another bitterly cold day.

The snow and ice is expected to cause continued problems on the nation's transport network. Motorists have been urged by the Highways Agency to be cautious and check conditions before setting out.

The Met Office still has yellow "be aware" weather alerts in place sweeping from south-east England up to southern Scotland, covering Northern Ireland and north-east Wales.

Up to an inch of snow has fallen across eastern Scotland and central parts of England, the Midlands, East Anglia and Lincolnshire. Another inch will build up in the same areas throughout the day, spreading to east Wales and northern England.

In Lancashire, a man was found dead in deep snow after walking home on Friday night in severe weather.

The body of the 27-year-old, who has not been named, was found by a farmer in Brierfield, near Burnley, at about 1.30pm on Saturday.

Road users have been urged to check the weather forecast before travelling while motorists faced long journeys home along the region's road networks on Friday night, with heavy delays on the M5, M6 and M54. One woman had to be cut from her car and taken to hospital after her vehicle collided with the M54 flyover bridge at Codsall Wood in Staffordshire.

At Wolverhampton, a broken down car on the ring road blocked one lane from Snow Hill to the Penn Road island, causing delays for motorists.

Meanwhile, the M5 southbound between the M6 and junction two for Oldbury was slow during Friday night's rush hour following an accident.

Night-time closures of the M6 between junction five at Castle Bromwich and junction six at Birmingham to allow improvement work on Saturday were postponed.

The prolonged cold snap has also sparked fears that the UK will run out of stored gas, but the National Grid has said there is "plenty of gas available", and the Department of Energy and Climate Change has said gas needs are being met.

The south-west suffered heavy downpours and flash flooding, more than 90 flood risk alerts are in place. A landslide and floodwater in Cornwall smashed through a block of flats partially collapsing the building.

Emergency crews and specialist investigators found a woman's body after picking through debris at the Veronica flats in Looe. The body is believed to be that of Susan Norman, who is in her 60s and police said was unaccounted for, having not been heard from since returning to the flat on Thursday night.

A West Midlands Police and Crime Commissioner Open Day due to take place in Birmingham yesterday was cancelled.