Snowbound Gatwick reopens runway

Passengers have been advised to contact their airline for information

The runway at Gatwick Airport has been cleared of snow and reopened though hundreds of flights remain cancelled.

A total of 438 flights were cancelled and only two incoming flights managed to reach Gatwick before the runway closed for snow clearance.

The runway reopened on Wednesday evening, but passengers were urged to contact their airline for information.

Disruption to railways and roads across Sussex saw some passengers taking six instead of one hour to reach London.

Southeastern and Southern Railway have been running restricted services. Southeastern said disruption would continue on Thursday.

Weather-related calls

Rail operator Southern apologised for delays on the East Grinstead and Uckfield line saying a broken down train and a tree on the line had contributed to the problems.

In a statement Gatwick Airport also apologised for the disruption and said: "We regret the disruption caused to our passengers' travel plans, but the safety and security of aircraft and passengers are our number one priority."

School closures in Sussex

A spokesman told the BBC the airport had 233 cancelled arrivals and 205 cancelled departures.

Up to 5,000 homes in Sussex and Surrey were without electricity on Wednesday after power lines came down.

Electricity company EDF said the outages in Sussex affected the Haywards Heath and Crawley areas.

Engineers were trying to carry out repairs but had been hampered by snow.

It was not yet known when power would be restored, a spokesman said.

Sussex Police received a high-volume of weather-related calls, many of which were minor crashes, large vehicles struggling on hills, and power cables, telephone lines and trees coming down in the snow.

Jack-knifed lorry

In one of the force's more unusual incidents, a white husky dog was found wandering in Goring - a spokesman for the force said officers were not looking for an abandoned sledge.

Supt Steve Barry warned drivers of treacherous driving conditions and urged people only to travel if necessary.

A total of 276 schools in West Sussex were closed or partially closed, 120 schools shut in East Sussex and up to 40 closed their doors in Brighton.

Many schools across East and West Sussex were also due to be closed on Thursday.

Lane closures were brought in earlier on the M23 near Crawley, although the Sussex stretch of the motorway reopened later.

The A22 was also closed between Wych Cross and Forest Row because of a jack-knifed lorry.

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