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Road users in the south-east of England are being asked by National Highways not to travel unless it’s essential, due to heavy snowfall overnight, with up to 10cm of snow having been forecast.
Kent was being particularly hard hit, with snow severely affecting the M2, the M20 around junctions 8 and 9, as well as the A21 and the A249, with drivers struggling to get through, the organisation said. Speaking last night, National Highways duty operations manager for the region Gina Oxley, said:
We have been out gritting throughout the afternoon and we’re continuing to treat routes so we can reach the worst-affected areas and support our customers with their journeys.
For anyone thinking of travelling tonight, our advice would be not to unless absolutely essential as heavy snow is expected to continue until 9am.
Cameron McVittie, a tactical commander with West Midlands ambulance service, said:
On being rescued, the four children were taken under blue lights to hospital with an advanced care team. Two were taken to Birmingham Children’s Hospital and two to Heartlands in Birmingham. All four children were in critical condition on arrival.
Unfortunately, the children in the water were in cardiac arrest and were receiving advanced life support en route to hospital.
The press conference heard that one of the police officers suffered mild hypothermia and is making a “full recovery” in hospital.
Four children were taken to hospital in critical condition after being rescued from a lake in Solihull in the West Midlands, having fallen through ice on Sunday afternoon. Richard Stanton, the area commander for the West Midlands fire and rescue service, saiid:
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We know that the weather forecast for the next few days is expected to be bitterly cold, please, adults and children alike, stay away from open water, under no circumstances venture on to ice regardless how thick or safe you think this ice may be.
The children were pulled from the water in cardiac arrest, while a search operation was launched amid fears two more children were involved in the incident.
Emergency services were called to Babbs Mill Park in Kingshurst, a nature park in Solihull, at 2.36pm on Sunday. Last night, Stanton told a press conference:
When our firefighters arrived, a number of police officers and members of the public were in the water trying to reach and rescue the children.
Our crews entered the water, swam to the first child and our specialist-trained firefighters, including technical rescue, rescued three further children.
The children were brought out of the water where they received immediate life-support care from firefighters and our ambulance colleagues.
He later added that they were “made aware there were up to six people in the water” when firefighters arrived.
So, after rescuing the four children, we have continued the search and rescue operation to confirm whether there were any more in the water. The specialist medical advice we have been given on the scene, given the temperature of the water, given the age of those who entered the water and the amount of time they have been in there, this would no longer be a search and rescue operation.
Transport warnings as snow hits
Travel disruption is expected to push into Monday’s morning rush-hour as yellow warnings of ice, fog and snow are in place for much of the UK.
The Met office have issued the alerts as temperatures are expected to stay well below freezing overnight and combine with wintry showers to create icy conditions. Forecaster say problems caused by snow, ice and fog are likely to persist throughout the week.
Snowfall on Sunday evening forced airports to close their runways and left drivers struggling to get through.
