Abandoned cars leave Peak District pass blocked

Abandoned vehicles forced the closure of a snowy stretch of road in the Peak District in Derbyshire.

A number of the county's highest roads were closed to traffic on Thursday night ahead of Storm Goretti's arrival, but Winnats Pass was not among them.

However, conditions in the gorge, near Castleton, proved too tricky for many motorists, who ditched their cars on Thursday night and were unable to continue.

Derbyshire County Council said Winnats Pass had reopened at about 17:35 BST on Friday with all but two cars removed.

Mark Cooper, owner of Waterside Farm caravan and camping site in Edale, had driven to the area on Friday morning to help clear the road with a tractor equipped with a plough and grit.

But even in his tractor he was blocked from continuing, he said, as was a county council gritting team that had to turn back.

He said: "The road was about clear but I couldn't plough or grit the very top as the cars were blocking the road that were left last night when it had been much worse."

Almost all of the roads that were closed in anticipation of the snow had since reopened, with the A6024 Holme Moss and A57 Snake Pass the last to be cleared.

The top of Snake Pass is passable with care, a spokesperson for the council said.

The spokesperson added: "Our gritting teams worked through the night keeping the main roads open, and this morning have been concentrating on the primary routes.

"With a lot of very wet roads, and freezing temperatures expected tonight, please take care out there later on.

"Our thanks to all our gritting teams and farmer contractors for everything they have done."

Another major road in the county shut ahead of Storm Goretti was the A5012 Via Gellia Road, where work is ongoing to remove unstable trees affected by ash dieback disease.

This remains shut until inspections and gritting can be carried out by the council.

As well as disruption on the roads, rail services have been affected, with branch lines closed overnight on Thursday by Network Rail and the Hope Valley Line still shut until at least 10:00 BST on Saturday.

Until then, there are no rail services between Manchester and Sheffield through the Peak District.

And at East Midlands Airport in Leicestershire, heavy snowfall meant runways had to close overnight on Thursday until teams were able to clear the site.

But Storm Goretti has not stopped everything across Derbyshire - an event dubbed "Britain's most brutal endurance race" will go ahead this weekend despite the wintry weather.

However, a yellow weather warning for snow and ice remains in place across the East Midlands for Saturday, and covers north Derbyshire on Sunday.

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