Drivers are caught out in big freeze

Thousands of motorists faced a nightmare journey to work today as overnight snow and ice caught councils on the hop.

Wolverhampton, Sandwell, Dudley and Walsall councils sent gritters out in preparation for freezing conditions.

But they had little effect on the snow, which began to fall heavily at midnight following a light dusting at 9pm.

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Commuters in Wolverhampton as well as those in Kinver, Wombourne and Kingswinford were among the worst hit with drivers reporting their journey times had doubled.

Drivers even got out of their cars on the A449 Penn Road to investigate the hold-up. One motorist travelling from Wordsley to Wolverhampton said the normal 25-minute journey took one hour and 35 minutes.

Motorists on the M54 faced a ten minute delay when the westbound carriageway was blocked after a three-car smash between Junctions 4 and 5 shortly before 7am today.

Highways Agency spokesman Ray Prichard said the repairs were carried out and the road cleared in ten minutes.

A brief rolling road block was put in place on the M6 after two lorries were involved in a minor bump in the roadworks stretch between M6 junctions nine and eight shortly before 7am.

Temperatures overnight plummeted to around -2C (28F) and forecasters have warned they "can't rule out" the possibility of more snow later in the week.

Stephen Holman, from the Met Office, said temperatures had struggled to get above freezing overnight and just under an inch of snow had fallen (2cm).

But he said temperatures would rise throughout the day, hitting highs of 4C (39F) and sticking at just above freezing overnight.

Wolverhampton City Council used 98 tons of grit over the weekend and has 296 tons left in stock, with a delivery due today.

Councillor Paddy Bradley, who is in charge of transport for Wolverhampton City Council, said: "We were not expecting snow. The forecasts I saw said there was only going to be snow in Scotland.

"The gritting lorries did go out last night but that was a while before the snow fell so unfortunately it has not made much difference."

Transport bosses at Sandwell Council sent their gritters out twice – at 5pm yesterday and again at 4am today.

The gritters covered more than 300 miles of roads across the borough, depositing 215 tons of grit.

Perryfields High School in Oldbury did not open until 10.30am as staff struggled to make it in to work. Gritting teams from Walsall Council were out at 3am on Sunday morning and again at 4am today Dudley council sent out crews between 7 and 11pm yesterday and 5am today.

In Staffordshire, only main roads were being gritted and Camp Road, Cannock was closed causing problems for people crossing the Chase.

Bus services in Wolverhampton were delayed or diverted. The 532 and 533 run by National Express West Midlands had to by-pass Wolverhampton Science Park and drop people at stops on the A449 Stafford Road. The 254 and 255 services between Wolverhampton, Wombourne and the Merry Hill Centre was also reporting delays.