A3 reopens after overnight snow chaos

Up to 140 cars still had not been collected by Wednesday afternoon BBC Hampshire - snow information Hovercraft glides on snowy road In pictures: Winter weather

The A3 in Hampshire has reopened in both directions after up to 1,000 drivers were stranded overnight when heavy snow fell across the county.

Attempts to rescue motorists by Hampshire police, Surrey Police and the Army were hampered by new drivers trying to join the road.

Owners of abandoned vehicles have been urged to call Hampshire police on 101 to get advice before returning there.

Some 140 cars had still not been collected on Wednesday afternoon.

Most of those were on the northbound carriageway between Longmoor and Hindhead.

Supt Barry Talbot, from Hampshire Adverse Weather Centre, defended the police response to the incident.

Clearly some people who didn't need to drive did drive, and unfortunately some got stuck Supt Barry Talbot

"We worked very hard to actually rescue people from an eight-mile stretch of road which had over 400 abandoned vehicles on it.

"We were prepared for yesterday.

"Clearly some people who didn't need to drive did drive, and unfortunately some got stuck."

He said icy roads were now of concern on Wednesday night and into Thursday morning, adding the morning rush-hour could be a "difficult time".

Police and Army 4x4 patrols have been collecting people from the seven rest centres set up for the stranded motorists and returning them to their cars on the A3.

The rest centres are now closed.

Mr Talbot added: "Motorists needing to collect cars from the A3 should call 101 where they will be provided with advice as to what to do.

"Ideally they should have arranged transportation, before making the call to police, to assist in getting them back to their vehicle."

The A3(M) was re-opened in both directions at about 1430 GMT.

The A3 north of Hindhead was reopened by Surrey Police at about 1300 GMT.

Up to 30cm (12in) of snow fell in the county overnight on Tuesday and snowfalls continued on Wednesday.

The Isle of Wight also saw heavy snowfalls and treacherous driving conditions.

Gritting teams in Hampshire were concentrating on primary routes overnight on Wednesday and into Thursday morning, police said.

Power cuts

Roads being treated included the A3 as well as the A27 and M27, which had also been treacherous.

Dozens of farmers have also volunteered for road clearing duties.

Further north, snow brought down trees on the A272 between Petersfield and Midhurst.

In Titchfield, near Fareham, an elderly man died when he lost control of his car in atrocious weather conditions on Tuesday evening.

Meanwhile about 4,000 homes are without power, mostly in the Bordon and Alton areas, although Southern Electric said there were pockets of problems everywhere in the county.

Spokesman Dennis Kirby said a total of 20,000 customers had been off for varying lengths of time since the snow fell. Engineers are due to resume work in the morning.

North Hampshire received much of the heaviest snowfalls

South East Water company appealed for residents in parts of Alton to conserve water while it worked to restore electricity at a pumping station.

Southampton Airport was closed for a time but has since reopened.

A spokeswoman warned on Wednesday evening that there were several delays and cancellations, and passengers should contact their airline for more information.

More than 400 Hampshire schools were shut because of the weather, with many expecting to remain closed on Thursday.

South West Trains ran a revised timetable and trains were unable to run between Portsmouth Harbour and Guildford.

The firm said it was planning to run a normal service on Thursday but some trains could be subjected to "short notice delays".

Portsmouth's Queen Alexandra Hospital was forced to cancel all elective surgery to enable staff to concentrate on emergencies.

Coastguard teams also assisted ambulance services across the county and on the Isle of Wight.

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