Snow: Suffolk Covid vaccination centres and schools close due to Storm Darcy

Many Suffolk Covid-19 vaccine centres have been closed due to heavy snow.

The mass vaccination hub at the Gainsborough Sports Centre in Ipswich are shut, plus centres in Debenham, Haverhill, Stowmarket, Woodbridge and Bury St Edmunds.

A Met Office amber warning was put in place across much of the region until 12:00 GMT - meaning travel disruption and power cuts were likely.

More than 300 schools have been closed to all pupils as well as some roads.

The Gainsborough Sports Centre site, which can vaccinate thousands of people each week and is primarily for people who live within a 45-minute drive of east Ipswich, is run by the Essex Partnership University NHS Trust, which said it would reopen on Thursday.

It also said its centre at Chevington Close, Bury St Edmunds was closed on Monday.

On Sunday, five vaccination sites run by the Suffolk GP Federation, at Trinity Park near Ipswich, Woodbridge Community Hall, Debenham Community Centre and The Mix in Stowmarket, closed at 12:00, while the EpiCentre in Haverhill shut at 16:00.

The Federation said they would remain closed on Monday "due to snowy conditions and for safety reasons" and a decision had not yet been made about reopening on Tuesday.

"Site managers and booking team staff are notifying patients by text and phone, and are advising them about how to make a new appointment for the coming week," a statement said.

The NHS West Suffolk Clinical Commissioning Group said it expected all the county's other vaccination sites to operate as usual, but it was possible that some may have to close early and patients should check before travelling.

Under current national restrictions, only children of critical workers and vulnerable children have been attending school in person, but Suffolk County Council said "the majority" of its 300 primary schools, 90 secondary schools and 50 colleges and 6th forms were closed.

The A140 was closed just before midnight with police saying several cars were abandoned by drivers - but it has since reopened.

Debenham Road in Mickfield was also shut.

Suffolk Highways tweeted that it had been working through the night to treat priority roads but were "up against snowdrifts, stuck vehicles and impassable roads".

It said the B1115, north of Hitcham, had "snowdrifts higher than our ploughs" and had been asking farmers to help them clear the roads.

Beccles-based Border Bus said it would not be operating any buses on Monday and in another tweet added that people should avoid Ellough Road in Worlingham as snow was drifting across the road.

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