Ice warnings for England following day of heavy snow

Hundreds of schools remain closed and a warning of icy conditions is in place for most of England a day after heavy snow hit the north of the country.

The deepest snow on Thursday fell in Bingley, West Yorkshire, which recorded 11cm (4.3in).

It led to widespread disruption with Yorkshire Ambulance Service declaring a "major incident" due to high demand.

The Met Office has now warned below freezing temperatures across many parts of England will produce icy surfaces.

A yellow warning for snow and ice has been issued for most of Saturday, with an Amber warning for snow across parts of East Anglia.

Temperatures in parts of Yorkshire and Cumbria were -6C (21F) earlier and there are warnings of fog for parts of the Midlands and the North.

About 700 homes in Hebden Bridge, West Yorkshire, remain without gas due to frozen pipes.

Northern Gas Networks said work was taking place to excavate a section of pipe containing frozen water and has asked customers in the area not to use their gas appliances.

In Sheffield the Libby Squire murder trial was halted for a second day after poor road conditions prevented a juror getting to court.

Thursday's snow brought significant travel disruption across the North and caused some people to cancel Covid vaccinations and tests.

Vaccinations are continuing, but one GP said anyone who felt unsafe going out should get in touch and their appointment would be rescheduled.

Dr James Thomas, who also chairs the Bradford and Craven Clinical Commissioning Group, said they appreciated that those being vaccinated were elderly or vulnerable.

"I am aware people are worried and scared. What I would say is, if you really feel unsafe and can't make it please call us and cancel your appointment.

"It will be rebooked. You won't miss your chance to get the vaccine."

A vaccination clinic due to take place in Harrogate at the Great Yorkshire Showground on Saturday has been rescheduled to Sunday due to the weather.

The county's clinical commissioning group said patients will be contacted directly, but those with an appointment should go to the showground at the same appointment time on Sunday.

Conditions on the roads across Yorkshire remained challenging, according to North Yorkshire County Council's Karl Battersby.

"People should not be travelling during the Covid-19 lockdown unless absolutely essential and now we are appealing to everybody not to go out and not to drive unless they have to due to the effects of wintry weather," he said.

In West, North and South Yorkshire hundreds of schools were forced to close to all children and a similar number remain shut on Friday.

The Yorkshire Ambulance Service declared a major incident due to high demand, but said the situation had eased later on Thursday.

Councils across Yorkshire have said gritting teams have been out continuously on priority roads and footpaths and have been working to ensure pedestrian and road access to Covid testing and vaccination sites.

Leeds City Council said its team had been out since 03:30 GMT on Friday morning.

However gritting caused a Twitter argument in Wakefield, when the local Conservative MP tweeted his frustration over the state of roads in the area.

Imran Ahmed Khan said motorists "deserved better" from the council.

Labour councillor and cabinet member Matthew Morley responded saying the team had been out since 04:30 GMT on Thursday morning "working hard to keep the district moving".

The Mid Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust, which runs hospitals in South Yorkshire, said it was working to clear snow from its sites, however paths and roads remained icy and it urged people to take care.

FareShare Yorkshire, a charity which supplies surplus food to almost 400 organisations, said it would be unable to make deliveries on Friday.

It tweeted that the majority of its delivery routes were either blocked by snow or abandoned vehicles.

Thursday's wintry weather saw a large snowball fight at Hyde Park in Leeds which attracted criticism for a lack of social distancing after footage was posted on social media.

However, a student in the city has defended the event which involved students from various universities as well as non-students.

Adam, who did not wish to give a surname, said: "I think a lot of people were just in the park anyway enjoying the snow and joined in."

"It was a very welcome relief, a welcome laugh that people needed," the 20-year-added.

He said he understood people who criticised the event, but said he felt the risk of transmitting coronavirus had been low.