Closures chaos as snow hits Midlands

Schools were closed, pipes burst and leisure centres shut as the West Midlands woke up to more early winter snow today, with forecasters warning more is on the way.

Up to two inches of snow fell in parts of the West Midlands overnight and weather experts are predicting another night of freezing temperatures and dangerous driving conditions.

More snow pictures here.

The fall was less than had been warned last week, but more flurries were expected today and into tonight.

Hundreds of pupils were today told to stay at home today as the Arctic conditions continue. More than 10 schools closed today across the region, mainly because of heating problems.

The Dormston School, in Mill Bank, Sedgley, was closed to all pupils today after its boiler broke in the freezing temperatures.

Headteacher Stephaine Sherwood said: "We found out the boiler had broken by 6am and engineers were called. Staff are very sorry that the children's learning is being disrupted. We will continue to put updates on our website."

The Wordsley School, in Brierley Hill Road, Wordsley, put back its starting time to 9.40am.

Claregate Primary School in Wolverhampton today remained closed to its 120 pupils in reception and year one while work continues to fix two burst pipes that have left classrooms ankle-deep in water.

And bosses of Chase View Primary School, in Rugeley, said he had been forced to close the school to its 150 pupils because the access pathway has not been gritted.

Headteacher Andrew Minott said: "At the moment I am very disappointed and upset that we can't open the school."

Hagley Park Sports College in Burnthill Lane, Rugeley, Fairoak School, in Penkridge Bank Road, and King's Hill Primary School in Old Park Road, Darlaston, were also closed to pupils today, together wih Guns Village Primary in West Bromwich.

Breakdown services in the West Midlands recorded their busiest November day in 10 years yesterday as the number of call-outs hit record highs. The RAC was called out to to 12,500 people, 1,200 of them in the West Midlands.

Spokesman Dan Sparks said: "On the same Monday last year we had 10,000 calls.

"We have to prioritise customers who are in an unsafe place at the roadside but most of the extra calls were for help starting the car because of extreme temperatures or snow." The

AA national breakdown centre in Oldbury took more than 25,000 calls for help over the past 24 hours, beating its previous record set during the cold snap in January.

West Midlands Fire Service also reported call-outs to flooding caused by pipes bursting in the freezing conditions had doubled since Sunday morning.

Gritting lorries were out in force across the region overnight as 1.6ins of snow fell. Nine of Wolverhampton's 10 vehicles went out with the other kept on standby in case of a heavier snowfall.

The city has stockpiled 3,500 tons of grit and rock salt — an extra 1,000 tons on last year's supply. Wolverhampton City Council spokesman Paul Brown said 182 tons of salt was spread over the streets.

He said: "Our crews would normally be out for about three-and-a-half hours but they were working from 10pm until around 7.45am today. We've increased the amount of salt per square metre and were also gritting footpaths."

Bilston Leisure Centre's pool remained closed today because of a heating problem.

Train companies were working with Network Rail around the clock to deal with snow and ice in affected parts of the country.

They plan to run empty 'ghost' trains and de-icer trains through the coming nights to keep the tracks and overhead cables free of snow and ice.

Flights in and out of Birmingham Airport to Brussels in Belgium and Dusseldorf in Germany were cancelled this morning but the airport remained open as normal. In Walsall three cars were stolen within 40 minutes today after motorists left them on their driveways with the engines running to allow them to defrost.

A red Volvo was stolen from a driveway in Beacon Hill, Aldridge, and a silver Volvo from Caldmore Road, Walsall, at 7.30am. A black Audi A6 was stolen from a driveway in Ullswater Road, Walsall, at 8.10am.

Cars have also been stolen in Wolverhampton and Dudley during the cold weather, and police have warned motorists that insurance companies do not pay out for cars stolen when the keys are left in them.

The Met Office today warned temperatures would plummet to -5C (23F) overnight, with another two inches of snow expected. Forecaster Gavin Robbins said: "We are going to see some light flurries of snow throughout the afternoon and continue into the evening and overnight. We are talking about two inches maximum.

"The temperatures will drop to -3C (27F) overnight, maybe even -5C (23F) in more exposed areas."