When a rare snowfall brought Merseyside to a halt

Fifteen years ago a white Christmas came a week too early to Merseyside.

As people hoped to party in Liverpool on Friday 17 December thick snow began falling.

The city's geography means it can usually escape the worst of a snowfall but on this occasion people stranded on a night out and with little or no public transport rushed to find hotel rooms.

Elsewhere in Merseyside Keith Jones from Maghull shot scenes of the morning after which showed the extent of the white-out.

"The first four photos I took were of the A59 when I got down there," he recalled.

"The road was totally different to its normal bustling self."

Mr Jones explained: "Only one lane open each way, but enough for me to manage to get to my mums house."

He said his mum lived alone and he was walking out that morning to see if the main road (A59) was clear so he could get to hers.

"I also remember helping quite a few motorists who had got stuck in the snow."

Further afield hundreds of vehicles spent Friday night stranded on the M6 after a lorry jackknifed in the snowy conditions.

Premier League fixtures in Liverpool, Wigan and Blackpool were called off.

Up to 10in (25cm) of snow fell in parts of Cheshire, Lancashire, Manchester and Merseyside.

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