Schools closed and horse stuck in cold snap

Three schools in Dudley were closed today - and a stranded horse had to be rescued in Wolverhampton - as the plunge in temperatures continues to cause problems around the region.

Northfield Road Primary School in Netherton was shut to all pupils due to heating problems, apart from those in Year 5 who are on a trip.

Netherbrook Primary School was also closed to pupils today due to heating problems, as was Bromley Primary School, which will be closed today and tomorrow.

The Dell Stadium in Brierley Hill remained shut today as the pitches were frozen.

Dudley Council said its gritters were out again last night and will be treating side roads and footpaths today, as well as refilling grit bins across the borough.

Meanwhile an elderly horse was rescued by firefighters after it became stranded on ice at a farm. The 30-year-old mare called Star had gone for a roll in a field at Boundary Farm in Wightwick, Wolverhampton, when it was unable to get on its feet again due to the slippery conditions.

Specialist firefighters from the technical rescue unit based at Bickenhill, near the NEC, Birmingham, spent three hours yesterday trying to get the animal upright. The alert was raised just before 10am after the mare's own efforts to stand up had left her exhausted and distressed. A five-man team of firefighters and a vet were called to the property in Perton Road.

They slipped slings under her chest and back legs and used a lifting tripod to raise the animal, which weighed up to a hundred weight.

The rescue operation was carried out in two phases with the mare propped up on bales of straw.

Meanwhile there are fears birds at a Sandwell nature reserve may have died because they are unable to find food. The lake has frozen over on the reserve of the RSPB Sandwell Valley and the site's manager fears some birds may have perished.