British skiers make the most of the snow

More than six million people are reported to have taken the day off work yesterday, and more than 3,000 schools were shut due to the heavy snowfall. It was weather that many people have not seen for 18 years, and as a result many railway stations, bus stops or roads were closed or impassable. Many people headed instead for the nearest park or field instead to throw a few snowballs.

One North London skier told how she and some friends headed up to Primrose Hill yesterday with their skis, via the London Underground. "The reaction from everyone on the tube was pretty much as you'd expect, the odd raised eyebrow and I'm not sure everyone appreciated the safety factor of checking the tube map out on the way home to make sure we knew where we'd gone." "We bumped into some seasoned long-skis-with-rear-entry-boots chaps on the top of Primrose Hill, then bumped into some guys from our season and were able to hijack their kicker. We were mildly perturbed by the grassy nature of the run-up and the even-more-grassy landing, but we acquired an audience at the top cheering each descent and started feeling like celebrities. We then skied off down to the pub for a spot of après where we were unceremoniously refused Jaeger-bombs, Chartreuse and Genepy, so settled for pints of Amstel instead".

Heavy snow hits the UK

South-east England experienced the heaviest snowfall for 18 years yesterday, and major airports were closed, motorways slowed to a standstill and many train services were cancelled as a result of the extreme weather. In London, commuters struggled to get to work after buses were suspended and many parts of the Underground stood down due to the dangerous conditions. Despite snow ploughs working to clear tracks, rail services in and out of the South East of England were mainly cancelled or severely disrupted. On the roads thousands of gritters were out but there was gridlock reported on many major routes including the M25.

The North Downs and Pennines bore the brunt of the blizzards with at least 10 inches reported in many places. However the snow extended across much of the country with four inches of snow being commonly found. In Scotland, heavy snowfall shut dozens of schools and caused difficult driving conditions and flight cancellations. Airports in Edinburgh, Glasgow and Aberdeen have cancelled more than 60 flights due to the extreme conditions south of the border. The heavy snowfall hasn't hit all the Scottish resorts as yet, but Cairngorm and Glenshee have had some light dustings and all the resorts are expecting more snow during the coming week.

The Met Office has issued an extreme weather warning for England, Wales and eastern Scotland, and more snow was forecast for today.