Snow brings Merseyside to an icy standstill - transport network falls victim to freezing weather

MERSEYSIDE was forced to a standstill as the region was engulfed in a rapid freeze.

Up to 15cm of snow carpeted the county as temperatures plummeted and several severe weather warnings were issued.

By 2.30pm yesterday every major Merseyside bus company had suspended their services and ambulances were being dispatched only to the most serious cases.

Traffic was halted across the region with one stranded woman even giving birth on the M53.

She had her baby shortly after the ambulance arrived.

Merseyrail’s network was jammed as thousands of workers desperate to return home piled on the region’s trains.

Services from Liverpool Central, Lime Street and Moorfields stations were overflowing with commuters as motorists abandoned their cars, fearful of dozens of reported collisions throughout Merseyside, Lancashire and Cheshire.

At least three lorries stuck in the snow – two on St Oswald’s Street, Old Swan, and one in Scotland Road, causing tailbacks across the city.

North West Ambulance Service ordered its paramedics to head only to patients whose lives were in immediate danger.

Deputy chief executive Bob Williams said: “We are having to stringently prioritise our 999 calls and dispatch our resources to life-threatening cases only.

“The driving conditions are extremely hazardous and we would like to reduce the risk of injury on the roads as much as possible.”

Two hospital trusts, St Helens and Knowsley, and Warrington and Halton, cancelled non-emergency appointments. A spokesman said they were only treating patients with life-threatening conditions.

Outpatient clinics at Southport and Ormskirk hospitals were also scrapped and will not run this morning.

Trains were one of the few headache-free ways to get home, with both the Northern and Wirral lines running without disruption.

Extra staff were deployed overnight with some employees driving empty trains to stop them freezing up. And special anti-icing lubricant was applied to the network’s tracks.

A Merseyrail spokesman said: “The trains have been a lifeline for many people wanting to get home.”

At Moorfields, passengers streamed on to the platforms as bosses let staff home early.

City centre fundraiser Katie Mercer, 25, from Upton, Wirral, abandoned her car after it took her 30 minutes to drive three miles.

She said: “A colleague and I were allowed to go home early and tried to drive home. It took us 30 minutes to get from The Strand to Leeds Street.

“The car was skidding everywhere. It was terrifying.

“Everyone was in a hurry to get home and I even saw taxis mount the pavement to get away.

“I got the train over to the Wirral where my dad picked me up.”

Phil Gandy, 22, who works for the Royal Sun Alliance on Old Hall Street was heading home on the train to Wallasey Village to have a snowball fight with his girlfriend.

He said: “To be honest I really didn’t want to go home. I was enjoying being back in work after the Christmas break. My girlfriend has also been allowed home early so we’re planning to have a snowball fight.

“I am just praying the trains continue to work as it’s freezing and I would rather not hang around.”

Such was the volume of people scouring alternative ways to get home that the Merseytravel website crashed due to extremely high internet traffic.

On the roads Liverpool city centre was gridlocked by mid-afternoon, particularly on Leeds Street and The Strand.

Riverside Drive, a major commuter route connecting the city centre and south Liverpool, was described as “impassable”.

Visibility on the M53 motorway remained poor with traffic reduced to around 20mph.

The Queensway Tunnel closed temporarily around 4pm as the icy A41 in Birkenhead created a huge queue snaking back through the tunnel, clogging up Liverpool city centre.

Parts of west Wirral including Caldy, Heswall and West Kirby became near impassable with council gritters unable to grit while snow was falling.

Trucks began gritting there at 5pm and planned to grit most roads at least twice last night.

Cabbies in some parts of Merseyside refused to accept fares because of potential treacherous journeys on to smaller roads.

The Runcorn Bridge, used by many commuters to cross the Mersey, was closed during the late afternoon for a time due to dangerous ice and a broken down lorry.

"Liverpool News"

Posted in: World News