Snowstorm hits region

Heavy snow fell on the West Midlands today as motorists and commuters faced nightmare journeys and hundreds of school pupils were told to stay at home.

Forecasters warned of freezing temperatures and dangerous driving conditions, with up to four inches of snow due to fall over the next 24 hours.

Click here and here to see pictures from across the region.

Temperatures in rural areas of the region plummeted as low as -8C (18F) last night, with -5C (23F) in towns and cities and were expected to stay below freezing today.

Continuing Arctic conditions brought travel chaos today, with road, rail and air travel badly disrupted. The M54 was closed this morning between junction two for Wolverhampton and junction three, for Cosford, following an accident in the snow.

The multi-vehicle accident caused for the westbound carriageway to be closed to allow the air ambulance to land, although it reopened later.

Gritting teams were out in an effort to keep main routes open. Birmingham City Council today revealed its gritters have been out for a record 21 days consecutively – compared to just 14 days in past winters. The Met Office today warned the weather was here to stay for the next two weeks.

Forecaster Helen Chivers said: "The snow is going to continue falling steadily throughout the day and in some parts of the West Midlands throughout the night.

"It will start dropping off in the morning but as soon as the snow stops then the frost returns very quickly." Severn Trent today revealed it was experiencing double the normal demand because of burst pipes and asked customers to be patient as they await help.

In Walsall, a burst water pipe in Pleck Road, next to the town's Manor Hospital, today led to delays for motorists as the road was sealed off for repairs. The AA told of its busiest ever day yesterday, with workers called out to 25,000 stranded motorists.

At Manchester Airport, holidaymakers faced hours of delays as the airport was closed and not due to reopen until early afternoon.

Ten East Coast Main Line rail services between London and Leeds were among the train journeys which had to be axed, with passengers urged to use the West Coast Main Line through the Midlands instead.

Hundreds of schools have been forced to close across the country today due to the adverse weather, including The Crestwood School in Bromley Lane, Kingswinford.