Schools staying closed longer due to winter weather

Schools were closed for a second day in some areas

Wednesday's school closures in your area

All Aberdeenshire schools have remained closed on Wednesday due to the severe winter weather conditions.

All 173 were earlier closed on their first day back after the festive break.

Aberdeenshire Council said the safety of pupils and staff was the key priority. All schools in Shetland also remained closed.

Twelve Aberdeen schools were affected. The majority of Orkney schools were open, with six closed. Many Moray schools will close on Thursday.

The council said 29 of the area's 46 primary schools would remain closed, along with seven of the eight secondaries.

The situation for Friday will be reviewed on Thursday.

Some roads were closed, including the A939 Cockbridge to Tomintoul route and the B974 Banchory to Fettercairn road.

Heavy snow

Grampian Police said that travel on the B999 Aberdeen to Tarves road was not recommended due to heavy snow.

The A98 New Pitsligo to Macduff road was passable with care, the A941 Dufftown to Rhynie road was closed, the A941 Dufftown to Craigellachie road was passable with care, but not recommended for heavy goods vehicles, the B976 Crathie to Gairnshiel road was closed and the B9024 Turriff to Huntly road was passable with extreme care.

Aberdeen Airport closed in the afternoon until snow was cleared from the runways.

Temperatures in Aboyne had dropped to -11C overnight.

Staff at Aberdeen Royal Infirmary's accident and emergency department said they had seen a rise in people turning up with fractured bones during the recent bad weather, compared to the previous year.

And there have been concerns expressed by the farming community that the winter weather has been making it extremely difficult to feed their livestock.

The snow has lying so deep in parts that farmers have been struggling reach their cattle or sheep.