Storm Emma: Snow brings power cuts and travel chaos

Power cuts have hit thousands of homes, public transport ground to a halt and more than 1,100 schools were shut as Wales endured a second day of snow.

Met Office yellow "be aware" warnings were in place all day, but the worst of the snow appeared to have passed after a red alert ended early on Friday.

Parts of north Wales were hit by damaging winds from Storm Emma, sinking boats and felling trees.

Natural Resources Wales also issued a small number of flood alerts.

Most train and many bus services in south Wales were suspended and all flights in and out of Cardiff Airport were cancelled.

Motorists were advised not to travel unless absolutely necessary with many roads becoming treacherous.

The Welsh Ambulance Service, along with hospitals in south Wales, put out a call for staff with 4x4 vehicles to help colleagues get into work.

Several health boards were forced to cancel outpatient appointments and routine operations.

St Athan in Vale of Glamorgan had some of the deepest snow in the UK, with 51cm (21in) recorded overnight.

Scottish Power said about 3,000 homes lost power in mid and north Wales at one point - most in and around Aberystwyth, Ceredigion and parts of Gwynedd, although it hoped to restore supplies by the evening.

Western Power also dealt with supply problems at hundreds of properties in south Wales.

A number of households in south east Wales reported having no hot water or heating.

Eileen Williams, 88, from Llantwit Major, Vale of Glamorgan, said she had been without heating and hot water for two days.

"I tried to get an engineer from British Gas to come out and called them again and again, but the line just keeps ringing," she added.

A British Gas spokeswoman said its engineers were working around the clock to try to get to customers.

Three people were rescued from their car by a group of volunteers in Cowbridge, Vale of Glamorgan, after being stranded for 15 hours buried under 7ft (2.1m) of snow overnight.

One homeless charity in Cardiff saw 44 rough sleepers seeking shelter on Thursday night, although a number of people remained on the streets.

Richard Edwards, chief executive of the Huggard Centre - the largest homeless shelter in Cardiff - said: "We have seen people coming in who we normally see on the streets, it's so cold. Their lives are at risk in this weather so we need to get them in."

Meanwhile, business leaders at CBI Wales said "things have just stopped" with the extreme weather affecting trade since Thursday.

A small number of vehicles, including lorries, were abandoned along the M4, the Welsh Government said.

The A465 Heads of the Valleys road was also closed for a time between the Gilwern and Brynmawr roundabouts.

And Ceredigion council said several roads had been closed across its area due to fallen trees.

At Holyhead Marina, Anglesey, about 80 boats have been damaged or sunk by Storm Emma.

Numerous weekend sporting events, including football, rugby and ice hockey matches, have been cancelled.

Welsh newspaper titles the Western Mail, South Wales Echo and South Wales Evening Post were not distributed because of disruption to transport on Friday.

But not everywhere in Wales faced a deluge of snow. Swansea and Port Talbot were among parts of south west Wales which were relatively unaffected.

A yellow warning for snow and ice for the whole of Wales remains in force until 23:55, with another one due to start at 00:05 on Saturday, lasting until 11:00.