ITN News / ITN news on Friday 18th December
The UK is in chaos after several days of intense winter weather and snowfall.
Roads are littered with abandoned vehicles in many of the worst hit parts of the country. As temperatures rallied into positive figures today many were returning to retrieve their vehicles. There have been reports that a high number of people have spent the night trapped in their cars in freezing temperatures.
There has been extensive disruption to public transport with many train cancellations. High speed Eurostar trains that run between London and Paris have been breaking down due to snow getting into the power systems. Around 2000 unfortunate travellers found themselves trapped for 16 hours in the dark tunnel under the English Channel. Some passengers have experienced panic attacks and there have been some cases of extreme claustrophobia prompting some to leave their trains and attempt to walk to a station.
Eurostar have now begun to resume operation of their high speed trains after three days with no service. They now have huge passenger backlogs to deal with in both France and the UK.
The National Health service has told people to stay at home unless their journey is essential. Hospital accident and emergency departments have reported huge numbers of people requiring treatment for injuries sustained as a result of falls on icy pavements.
Since Chrstmas is only a few days away many are forced to venture into their nearby towns to carry out their essential shopping. This is forcing many people to go out onto dangerous, icy footpaths.
Discussions have already begun regarding how well the UK has coped with this latest round of bad weather. Councils have been quick to treat main roads with salt and grit but many side roads and most pavements have remained untreated and dangerous.
Back in February 2009 the UK spent several weeks in sub-zero arctic temperatures that wreaked havoc on transportation disrupted schools and work for many people. This latest period of bad weather has prompted many people to ask why the UK suffers so much when winter comes along.
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