Now freeze hits region

The big freeze was gripping the West Midlands today as emergency services braced themselves for a frantic 24 hours.

See also: The latest snow photos

Sub-zero temperatures turned snow into ice as a second day of disruption hit schools, roads and bin collections.

Gritters were out in force across the region last night when temperatures fell to -4C (25F) - and tonight forecasters warn it will be -5 (23F).

Today every school was closed in Dudley, Birmingham and Solihull, with the majority shutting up in Wolverhampton, Walsall and Sandwell. In Staffordshire many remained open. Paramedics in the region received more than 400 calls yesterday, around a quarter of the total, to help people who had slipped over as pavements froze over.

West Midlands Ambulance Service's chief operating officer Rob Ashford said calls were up by 10 per cent, with Birmingham and the Black Country worst affected.

One woman was trapped under her own Mini car in Willenhall after it slid down her snow-covered driveway, pinning her against her house. In Wolverhampton, there were reports of collisions and vehicles sliding along the Black Country Route during rush hour this morning.

Motorist Dave Joyce, a 51-year-old fireman from Malvern Close, Willenhall, said: "The road was just a complete sheet of ice. Loads of cars were crashing and facing the wrong way. It was especially bad around Portobello island. I got off the road as soon as possible, it was a nightmare."

Bin collections in Walsall, Dudley and Wolverhampton were abandoned today, with residents in Wolverhampton warned their excess waste would not be picked up.

Dave Britton, from the Met Office, said widespread icy roads would continue until mid morning, but side roads would also be treacherous into the day.

Temperatures were expected to reach a maximum of 2C (37F) today, before falling sharply tonight. "There's going to be a lot of slushy deposits on the roads," he said. "There may be the odd, light snow shower through the day. The snow risk has now moved away so we're looking at what's on the ground. That will have frozen overnight and that's what people will need to watch out for."

Thousands of children in the West Midlands were enjoying their second day off today as most schools in the region closed.

Dudley and Birmingham were among councils putting in blanket closures, with other councils allowing headteachers to make the decision. In Wolverhampton, only 10 of 62 primary schools were open today. All of the city's 19 secondary schools were closed except Highfields and Smestow.

A handful of Walsall primary schools were open today, including St Mary's School, in Jesson Road, Rushall JMI and St Anne's Roman Catholic Primary School in Streetly.

Nationally, the poor weather was moving north today with snowfalls expected in Scotland.

Major airports were returning to normal, including Heathrow where there were 868 cancellations yesterday. The London Underground was also operating at full capacity.