Snow disrupts schools and travel

Snow has caused disruption across Staffordshire and south Cheshire after temperatures plummeted to below zero.

Two crashes closed the A50 in Staffordshire between Uttoxeter and Blythe Bridge on Monday morning, and while it has since reopened, one lane remains closed eastbound.

Delays were also reported on the M6 in Cheshire between junctions 18 for Middlewich and 17 for Sandbach following a crash on the southbound carriageway.

A number of schools in both counties have also been shut because of the weather, and police have warned drivers to only make necessary journeys.

For rail users, replacement buses have been running instead of London Northwestern trains between Crewe and Stafford due to overhead line problems, affecting services via Stoke-on-Trent.

Councillor Peter Mason, Staffordshire County Council cabinet member for strategic highways, told BBC Radio Stoke that gritting teams were "working incredibly hard".

He said all the primary routes across the county had at least two visits by gritters, as well as the secondary routes.

"They'll be out again as needed to make sure the roads are as clear as we can get them," he added.

"But the conditions are challenging, we can't get away from that. I would ask people just to give themselves a bit of extra time if they need to travel."

Cheshire East Council said main roads were gritted on Sunday and its crews had been out again on Monday to "help keep the network moving".

But, in a post on Facebook, the authority said temperatures were so low the conditions had "impacted the effectiveness" of the salt it used.

"Please remember that not all roads across the borough are gritted," the post added.

"We prioritise main roads, bus routes, and access to hospitals and schools – focusing our resources where they're needed most."

The council also said the weather had made it "not safe or possible" for its crews to carry out bin collections on Monday.

"We are waiting for the conditions to improve and will update residents with more information as soon as possible," a spokesperson said.

"The adverse weather conditions are forecast to last for the week commencing 5 January and may impact other collections scheduled for this week."

A number of roads in Staffordshire and Cheshire are said to be impassable or barely passable due to snow. They include:

Staffordshire

A51 London Road northbound impassable between New Road (Hixon) to A518 Stafford Road (Weston).

A518 Weston Road in both directions impassable due to snow from Boat Lane (Weston) to Blackheath Lane (Beaconside).

A34 in both directions just passable due to snow from A513 Beaconside (Marston Gate) to A51 (Aston Island, Stone).

A34 Congleton Road in both directions impassable due to snow from Talke Road (Talke Pits) to A5011 Linley Road (Talke Traffic Lights, Talke).

Cheshire

A534 in both directions impassable due to snow from A5020 University Way (Crewe Green roundabout, Crewe Green) to A533 Old Mill Road (Old Mill roundabout, Sandbach).

A5020 University Way impassable due to snow from A532 Weston Road (Crewe Hall) to A534 (Crewe Green roundabout, Crewe Green).

A500 Westbound just passable due to snow from M6 J16 to A51 Nantwich Bypass (Cheerbrook Roundabout, Blakelow).

A530 Middlewich Road in both directions just passable due to snow from Brynlow Drive (Middlewich) to Eardswick Lane (Bradfield Green).

In Nantwich, Cheshire, both of the town's high schools, Brine Leas and Malbank, are closed.

In Staffordshire, a number of schools have been shut. The current list can be seen here.

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