this is bbc news. the headlines at 11:00pm: drivers are being told to take care, flights have been cancelled, and many homes are without power, as snow and freezing temperatures grip the uk. some have been enjoying it all, as a thousand schools in england and wales stayed closed today. but there are fresh warnings tonight of treacherous conditions, with temperatures set to plunge to minus 13. it could be the biggest advance for half a century, with scientists hoping they can stop the deadly disease in its tracks. on newsnight, we look to the great brexit trade debate of 2018. what kind of deal will we get? and is britain suffering an academic of loneliness, and is there anything we can do to help? —— epidemic. good evening and

welcome to bbc news. snow and ice in some areas have led to the closure of hundreds of schools in wales and central england today while hundreds of homes in the west midlands and oxfordshire are facing power cuts for a second night. weather experts are warning that clear skies overnight will see temperatures fall sharply again, and motoring organisations are warning about ice on the roads. our correspondent steve knibbs has been in the forest of dean, in the west country, and has been describing how the local community has been coping with all the extreme weather. well, over the weekend it was the case of wheel it all worked it is no in parts of gloucestershire? and in the forest of dean, it did. gloucestershire police took over 400 999 calls, plus the sheer rescue

have you been using their 4x4 is to ta ke have you been using their 4x4 is to take paramedics to communities which have been cut off, and we know that a&e units have been busy as well. customers have been told the only come to a&e units if you have a serious life—threatening condition. as ever, when you have snow like this, community spirit kicks in. it was a slow, cautious start for those that had to venture out, but there we re that had to venture out, but there were many roads where trees, weighed down by the heavy snow, fell. here in the forest of dean, the driver of this car, who didn't want to be interviewed, had a lucky escape when this tree slid down the bank in front of him last night. for people that did venture out yesterday, falling trees was a constant hazard. asi falling trees was a constant hazard. as i was walking through the forest there were branches falling left, right and centre. the floor is covered with them. notjust small branches. we are talking big tree trunks. many parts of the forest had the thick snow scene in years. up to

700 homes lost power due to cables being brought down and across gloucestershire over 250 schools shut their doors, teachers, staff and pupils unable to get in. but with many communities cut off and transport difficult, help has been at hand. charlotte is a community nurse. yesterday on her day off she asked her neighbour with a 4x4 to ta ke asked her neighbour with a 4x4 to take her to a vulnerable patient who needed urgent medication. take her to a vulnerable patient who needed urgent medicationm take her to a vulnerable patient who needed urgent medication. it meant a lot to her and herfamily because this lady needed the pain relief and the medication, and she has had on a daily basis, and without somebody going to give it to her she would have been in a lot of pain and discomfort for potentially quite a long period of time. although gritters were doing their best, some communities had to dig themselves out instead. here, they were making sure people could get out. out instead. here, they were making sure people could get outm out instead. here, they were making sure people could get out. it is not quick enough. we don't see anything from the council down here. everybody has got to go this morning, after yesterday, there was

nothing. no help yesterday apart from the 4x4 ‘s. nothing. no help yesterday apart from the 4x4 's. freezing conditions met compacted ice on the roads, and eve ryo ne met compacted ice on the roads, and everyone was getting caught. officers got the car stuck and he has asked a couple of old sweats to get them out. a message would be to the public, if you don't have to drive, don't. even we get stuck. just don't risk it if you don't have to. and it is still not over yet. temperatures well below freezing are expected to night and into the late morning, so this snow and ice is here to stay at the moment. well, i can tell you tonight it is bitterly cold here in the forest of dean. it is thought that temperatures could drop as low in some parts to minus 15. there is a lot of slush and ice and water on the roads already, so that could lead to problems driving around the county tomorrow. we already know tonight around 30 schools have taken the decision to close already. worth checking the website. we are expecting a certain

amount of disruption tomorrow, and you can see the gritters are out tonight from gloucestershire highways, they were working for the last 48 hours as well. they will be spreading all the major routes tomorrow but some communities were telling us they did not get any grit because they are not on the main route, so communities have been coming out as well. coming to those roads, getting to those parts of gloucestershire that have been cut off. what i think it is fair to say, we are expecting temperatures go as low as —15, a fair amount of disruption tomorrow. the treacherous road conditions have put the emergency services under severe strain. one nhs trust in the west midlands was inundated with offers for help, after tweeting a message appealing for volunteers with 4x4 vehicles to get in touch to help staff get to work. our reporter ben godfrey met one man who responded to their plea. former army commander paul lewis didn't waste any time. after seeing an appeal from the nhs, he got in his 4x4 and drove

straight to russell's hall hospital in dudley. the major roads and side roads were covered in snow, yesterday morning i took some on all the way to stourbridge from the hospital. and then last night i picked someone up from wolverhampton. lined up like ambulances, volunteers for their own vehicles, 70 of them, and last night they were taxiing clinical staff to and from work. they had a doctor who had just finished a night shift. they had no means of getting home to stourbridge, sojump in and i'll take you home. the roads were quite slippery yesterday morning after the snowfall, so got him home safe. inside a&e, they have been busy. they have opened another triage unit to treat patients during the cold spell. this patient has arrived from maudsley, brought here by an ambulance 4x4 vehicle.

we have full traction control, so we can access areas where people who have been stranded, if they were in normal ambulances. nurses and doctors are doing extra shifts. we would normally have four triage cubicles. we've increased that to 12 over the last fortnight. that gives us the ability to take more cases from the ambulances, turn them around a bit more quickly, also provide more dignity. as the roads clear, paul lewis was back at russell's hall, where they simply want to say thanks. what time were you one till last night? i think i got home at 10:20pm last night. i'm no hero. it's given someone some help when needed. through the snow and treacherous conditions, good, old—fashioned community spirit has kept the wheels turning. scientists in london have reported a major breakthrough in the treatment of huntington's

disease, and say it could lead to new therapies for alzheimer's and other conditions. it has been described as potentially the biggest advance in the field for half a century, by correcting the defect that causes huntington's, a disease which is incurable, and kills most sufferers within 20 years of diagnosis. huntington's affects an estimated 10,000 people in the uk, with a further 25,000 thought to be at risk, as our health correspondent james gallagher explains. the allen family has been blighted by huntington's. they have seen their mother, stephanie, die from it. the last year of her life, every time we all went to visit her, she just held us and said, i want to die. the disease claimed their uncle keith and grandmother olive, too. they describe it as parkinson's, alzheimer's and motor neurone disease all rolled into one. when you've got something that's degenerative, you know that — every day, you know the last day was probably better than the next one's going to be. frank, his sister sandy and also their brother peter's

brains will all slowly degenerate from huntington's, too. but now, they have hope. the treatment is called gene silencing. every cell in the body contains genes, which hold the instructions for running the body. huntington's disease is the result of a corrupted gene, that leads to the creation of a toxic protein which destroys the brain. a messenger carries the blueprints from the corrupted gene. this treatment sticks to the messenger, disabling it, and lowering the production of toxic brain protein. now this will feel a little chilly. are you ready? 46 patients had the experimental drug injected into the fluid that bathes the brain and spinal cord. the trial showed the therapy is safe and effective. it was led by scientists at the university college london, who say the results are of ground—breaking importance. for the first time, we have the potential, we have the hope, of a therapy that one day may slow or prevent

huntington's disease completely. this is the experimental therapy. it is exciting, but it is not a cure. it will require far more research, and following patients for years to come. this is a brain dieing from huntington's. doctors are starting longer trials to see whether targeting the protein can change the course of this disease for families like the allens. if it works, and it stops me getting any worse, than would be fantastic. personally, i never really thought it would ever happen, that would happen. it's all about, you know, can twe stop it in other people, our children. this research also holds promise for other illnesses. similar toxic proteins are found in brain diseases including dementia and parkinson's. i really think that this

is potentially the biggest breakthrough in neuro—degenerative diseases for the last 50 year. we have very similar situations in at least some cases of these other diseases, and if the overall mechanism is essentially the same, we should be able to use the same general approach. the allens have made a promise to their children that a treatment would be ready in time for them. research over the next four years will see if gene silencing can fulfil that promise. greater manchester police have arrested four people on suspicion of murder after three children died in a house fire in worsley. a 14—year—old girl, named locally as demi pearson, was pronounced dead at the scene. an eight—year—old boy and a seven—year—old girl died later in hospital. their mother and another three—year—old child are being treated in hospital. our correspondent danny savage reports. in a street of terraced houses on the edge of manchester, a family home, which was set alight early this morning,

is now a major crime scene. neighbours who knew the victims and saw what happened have been left deeply upset. just a bang, and all fireballsjust coming from the house. susan smith watched in horror as the children were rescued. they were carrying the children into the ambulance and that. an awful thing to happen on your own street. yes. the 14—year—old girl who died at the scene has been named locally as demi pearson. an eight—year—old boy and seven—year—old boy died later in hospital. a three—year—old girl is in a critical condition. and the mother of all the children, named locally as michelle pearson, is also seriously ill. the deaths of three children is heart—breaking. our thoughts are with the family, the little girl and her mum, who are fighting for their lives. our specially trained officers are now with the family, to help them through this devastating time. tonight, several arrests have been

made, the majority of them on suspicion of murder, as scores of detectives continue to work on this investigation. at the nearby church of stjohn the baptist, the doors were open tonight for people to come in and remember the children who died. and it was well attended — such is the effect of these awful events. now on bbc news, it is time for newsnight. you got through series one — the divorce deal. now get ready to enjoy the full boxed set. the brexit trade talks that'll be preoccupying us through 2018. he asked about the trade deal, about ceta plus, plus, plus. we've always said that we're not looking for a deal that's norway and we're not looking for a deal that's ceta. if you're struggling with ceta, efta, and norway minus, fear not, we're on top of it. with both expert and political views, we'll look ahead

to where the talks will go, and ask if the eu will give us a choice anyway. also tonight, we visit the essex town of tilbury. a port built on the back of trade — what does it tell us about where we are now and where britain is heading? it does annoy me the fact that how much wealth the port has actually brought into the country, how has that wealth trickled down into the town? and is britain suffering an epidemic of loneliness? we'll hear how it feels and ask how we might help. hello. if you thought voting for brexit meant you'd hear no more about europe, look away now, because there is still lots to talk about. first, this morning, we still didn't know whether we had really resolved phase one of the talks — the divorce terms. it looked sorted on friday, then there were conflicting

interpretations of what we'd all signed up to. that storm has been been calmed. but then secondly, there is what to expect from phase two, the trade part of the talks. we know britain wants a deep and special relationship with the eu, but quite what that looks like we don't yet know. this afternoon, the prime minister was in the commons to show she can carve a path on phases one and two, that will reconcile all competing views. did she succeed? nick watt reports. it's that chilly time of year when we are reminded of some eternal human truths, it's freezing out there, but in that blanket of snow, you can see uniformity or on closer inspection, the endless variety of nature. in the new world of seemingly permanent protests, tory mps have been voicing widely divergent views on brexit, but