Snow and frost threaten organic milk supplies

As snow turned to ice, A&E departments were kept busy with falls

Milk suppliers near Weston-super-Mare say they may have to dump 100,000 litres of organic milk as tankers are unable to get through due to the snow.

The Organic Milk Suppliers Co-operative at Worle said all milk could be dumped as it has to be collected within 12 hours of milking.

Hundreds of schools are likely to remain shut as temperatures could plunge as low as -18C in places.

Bristol International Airport is open, but people are warned to expect delays.

The airport was closed for 10 hours on Thursday and passengers are advised to check with their airline.

All schools in Bath and North East Somerset (Banes), North Somerset and South Gloucestershire were shut, as are 116 schools in Bristol and 240 schools in Somerset.

Some Banes schools may open on Friday, at the discretion of their head teachers.

Record low

BBC West weather forecaster Richard Angwin said temperatures in Somerset could plunge to a 28-year low of -18C.

Even in suburban areas of Bristol, thermometers may struggle to get above -10C, although any snowfall might be light.

Refuse and recycling collections have been suspended in Bristol with some people claiming they have not had their rubbish collected for up to three weeks following the Christmas break.

The travel chaos meant a day off for many in Bristol and North Somerset

Recycling centres in Bath and North East Somerset are closed and people are being asked not put out their household waste for collection on Friday.

Avon and Somerset Police are warning about conmen posing as heating engineers.

In the last few days, they have recorded five incidents of men knocking on doors claiming to be checking for frozen pipes and then committing distraction burglaries.

The offences have taken place in the suburban areas of South Gloucestershire.

Sainsbury's supermarket in Arnos Vale in Bristol said it had sold out of table salt and reported increased sales of cat litter as people looked for alternative ways to grit their paths and driveways.

First Bus said services were almost back to normal in Bristol, Yeovil, Taunton and Bridgwater.