Snow catches us off guard

Drivers endured the worst misery yet as the West Midlands was caught off guard by another heavy load of snow.

Motorists were demanding answers as many streets were left ungritted and councils cut back on rock salt spreading by up to 50 per cent.

Around 120 schools closed across the region and motorists complained of delays and skidding as up to two inches of snow fell overnight.

The temperature was expected to hit 1C (34F) today and plunge to -2C (28F) overnight with a thaw predicted by the weekend.

Flights were grounded at Birmingham International Airport with bosses warning of delays for the rest of the day.

Some Virgin Trains services between Wolverhampton and London Euston were also cancelled, while passengers using National Express and Diamond bus services were warned to expect delays.

A 25-minute journey from Swindon, South Staffordshire, through Wombourne to Wolverhampton took more than an hour and 45 minutes as ungritted roads became clogged.

Traffic built up along Pool House Road and School Road in Wombourne, while half-a-mile queues backed up from a hump-back bridge outside the Round Oak in Ounsdale Road.

Queues backed up for more than three miles on the busy A449 Stourbridge Road and Penn Road into Wolverhampton due to the conditions, which led to a crash between a Mercedes and a Mazda MX5 at Penn Road's junction with Marston Road near Waitrose at 8.45am.

Kitchen fitter Jonathan Stevens, aged 28, who set out for the city centre just after 7am from Swindon, said: "It took me about 40 minutes just to get out of Wombourne."

The snowfall had made the village of Ackleton, near Wolverhampton, treacherous. A car skidded off Folley Road and hit a wall. Elsewhere parts of both the M6 and M5 were reduced to two lanes north and south bound and the A4123 Birmingham New Road was reduced to one lane from Birchley Island in Oldbury to the Burnt Tree Island in Dudley.

A driver skidded into a telegraph pole in Prince Street in Walsall at 6am. Burst water mains in Littleton Street West in Walsall and Darlington Street in Wolverhampton City Centre added to traffic problems. Roadworks on the Longford island on the A4601 in Cannock caused long tailbacks.

Councils have been told by the Government to cut back on gritting by 25 per cent.

Wolverhampton environment boss Councillor Barry Findlay said today it had reduced gritting by 50 per cent on side roads. Birmingham City Council said today it too had halved the amount of grit being spread.