ITN News / ITN news on Friday 18th December

A few days of cold weather accompanied by some short but intense snowfall have wreaked havoc in the United Kingdom.

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. Some people had found themselves trapped in their cars overnight in sub zero temperatures.

There has been a lot of disruption to public transport with bus and train services cancelled and many flights also cancelled. Eurostar high speed trains to and from Europe have suffered break downs due to the ingress of snow into the trains power compartment. Around 2000 passengers were stranded for up to 16 hours in the tunnel beneath the English Channel. Some passengers reported suffering from claustrophobia, some from panic attacks and many have complained about the lack of information.

After three consecutive days with no service Eurostar have now begun to resume normal operation of their high speed train service. There are now huge queues of stranded passengers to deal with in both France and the UK.

As the cold wintery weather persists the National Health Service have advised people to stay at home and only go outdoors if 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 to venture onto dangerous pavements that are treacherous.

Many are already discussing how well and how badly the UK has coped in this latest wave of bad winter weather. Local councils have been quick to treat main road surfaces with grit and salt but many smaller side roads and pavements have remained untreated.

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 bought of bad weather is prompting many to ask if the UK is really capable of dealing with cold winter weather.

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