today at five, parts of the uk are warned to prepare for blizzard conditions, as storm emma sweeps in to meet the beast from the east. a red weather warning for south—west england and south wales moons conditions pose a risk to life. people are warned travel only if necessary. snow and ice continue to wreak havoc across the uk, hundreds of drivers were left stranded in scotland overnight, and travel chaos looms for many. we've got staff on, we're asking the public to do their bit and not take unnecessary risks. iam ben i am ben brown, iam ben brown, i i am ben brown, i will be reporting live from gateshead in the north east, where it has been a day of blizzard conditions, 40mph wins and sub—zero temperatures. as the army is brought in to help some areas, we'll have the latest from our correspondents across the country with the very latest, as well as that

all important forecast. the other main stories on bbc news at five. theresa may meets the eu's donald tusk in downing street, preventing a hard irish border is high on the agenda. british children forcibly sent abroad from 1945, many abused, should be receive compensation, according to an inquiry report. the culture secretary scraps the second phase of the leveson inquiry, set up following the phone hacking scandal, saying the press had cleaned up its act. scottish rugby say they're appalled by abuse suffered by england's head coach eddiejones on his train journey last weekend. he vows never to travel by public transport again. it's five o'clock — our top story.

throughout the uk, there is severe disruption to transport and travel as the country endures a third day of freezing weather. thousands of children have been unable to go to school. a red alert — the most severe weather warning, meaning there's a risk to life — is in force for south west england and south wales until two o'clock in the morning. the icy blast is expected to last at least another 48 hours. the met office predicts that between ten and 20 cm of snow will fall in the red alert area, with the potential for up to 30 to 50 cm over parts of dartmoor, exmoor and parts of southeast wales. ice has been building on tiverton‘s grand western canal, and drivers are being warned that

widespread icy stretches on the roads will make conditions particularly dangerous. overnight, more than 300 drivers endured freezing conditions stranded in the snow on the m80 in central scotland. some spent as long as 18 hours stuck in their vehicles, after lorries reportedly slid into each other while trying to go uphill. let's get the latest from ben brown who's in the north east of england. ben? yes,jane, ben? yes, jane, good afternoon, we are at gateshead by the angel of the north. it has been a day of sub—zero temperatures here, blizzards, and brutal wind really of up to aomph, we have had an amber weather warning here of severe weather. up and down the country of course, there has been massive transport disruption,

planes cancelled or delayed. trains cancelled or delayed and roads and motorways blocked and the aa saying many roads are very treacherous and like ice rinks, numerous accidents around the country and in fact we have had word of one accident, we don't know whether this was caused bier the weather, but a nissan car colliding with a house and a seven—year—old girl, we understand, killed in that. this is in cornwall, again, we don't know if that is weather related but a fatality there. around the country, we have also had thousands of schools that have been closed. so we don't any if thatis have been closed. so we don't any if that is weather related. a fatality. round country, coming in from the south, a double whammy of really bitter weather conditions. as i say, here in the east of england we have had an amberwarning, here in the east of england we have had an amber warning, in scotland they had a red warning, a red alert,

and that means a threat to life, and thatis and that means a threat to life, and that is now in force as from 3.00, in parts of the south—west of england and south wales, so let us go to south wales now, near cardiff is my colleague rhodri. you join us as the wind picked up and nearly threw the camera over, those are the conditions we are experienced. to the north of cardiff. there is more snow underfoot, more blizzard like conditions and a feeling that storm emma is bringing her worst up from the south towards us. within the last few hour, the were government and transport secretary has told people simply, to go home, anyone out after 5.00, he say, is risking their lives. 0nly emergency service, council officials and armed forces should be out and ability.

the warning is in place until 2.00 in the morning, in south—east wales, across other areas of south wales and mid —walesl across other areas of south wales and mid —wales lthere is an amber warning in place, further north, then we have got cases of rivers and la kes then we have got cases of rivers and lakes freezing over, and it feels like temperature, the summit of snowden, round the minus 20 degrees celsius, it is unlikely that the thousand and more schools that are shut today will re—open until monday, we have got shopping centres in the centre of cardiff, that shut early today. hospital appointments and operations have already been cancelled for tomorrow, and a feeling that public transport is slowly grinding to a halt. the roads round me here clear until maybe an hour—and—a—half ago are snowed under. this behind me is one of the

most important roads into the centre of cardiff from the south wales valleys a nd of cardiff from the south wales valleys and the brecon beacons beyond, and well, you will never usually see it this quiet at 5.00 on a thursday afternoon. this is a very very unusual st david ‘s day here in wales. all right. many thanks indeed for that. that is the picture in south wales. let us get a snapshot of what it is like in the south—west. 0ur correspondent fiona lamdin is in taunton. what is the picture where you are?” ama what is the picture where you are?” am a stone's throw from the m5 but it is so quiet, you would normally be able to hear the lorries thunderering up and down. if you look behind me that is normally a busy road leading on to the m5. there are no cars here. when we first arrived here, i could see the concrete on this track, now, it is com pletely concrete on this track, now, it is completely all under snow. so every hour more and more snow falling. i

have a temperature gauge here it says it is minus three, but with the wind it feels more like michael brown 11. if you look be —— minus 11. if you look behind me, normally at this time of day, at 5.00, you would have loads of people coming to collect their cars from the park and ride on their way home from work. it is deathly quiet. to remind everyone, all the schools in somerset are obviously closed, they have been closed this afternoon, they are closed tomorrow, and the warning that please, please, english transport say don't drive between 8.00 this evening and 2.00 tomorrow morning. 0k. thank you very much indeed. that is fiona reporting. back up here, another very wintry night. this is the a167, just off the a1. we were driving up the a1 earlier, we saw a few stranded vehicles and emergency vehicle, these roads are open at the

moment, although the a1 is blocked further north, but, there have been real problems on the roads in scotland, where there was this red alert earlier on, and particularly overnight, on the m80 motorway between glasgow and stirling, when some vehicles got stranded, there we re some vehicles got stranded, there were jack—knifed lorries and led to hundreds of motorists spending many hours in their vehicle, trillion trapped in their vehicles. let us get this report from glasgow from catriona renton. a main route brought to a stand—still. i left aberdeen 4.30 yesterday afternoon and i'm yes, got stuck here about 8.00. last night. not moved an inch. i have not seen much of the police but the fire brigade delivered water last night but most of the help has come from locals

delivering cups of tea and coffee, blankets, and bottles of water. about 400 metres from me is a motorway bridge, and the locals have set upa motorway bridge, and the locals have set up a tea and coffee stall there for anybody needing refreshment. the conditions were terrible. at its height round 1,000 vehicles were stuck, with tale backs of approximately eight miles. at glasgow airport, the the par churs board says it all. 200 people spent the night in terminal building because roads were inaccuse sebls and hotels full. —— inaccessible. nothing seems to be happening, they still are not giving us an answer. so we have been here since yesterday afternoon, with our six month old soi'i afternoon, with our six month old son and our daughter. staff say they will get the airport fully open as

$0011 will get the airport fully open as 50011 as will get the airport fully open as soon as it is operationally safe to do so, but with so many flights having been cancelled, it will take some time to get things back to normal. and it is closed again tonight. some are still expected to be effectively stranded. yesterday afternoon the conditions in edinburgh were treacherous. this footage was filmed on a dash cam bya this footage was filmed on a dash cam by a van driver. earlier today, the usually busy bridges across the forth almost deserted. in glasgow, buses still in the depot. there is a lot of people have heeded advice, looking at the motorway network it is eerie to see how quiet it is at this time of the morning so people have heeded the warning but there is still people out there, we understand through is essential travel, but really if you are doing that you are putting yourself at risk. it is still avoid travel. this

the picture in the scottish border, the picture in the scottish border, the effects are still being felt. today, more than 1600 schools across country were closed again, with the vast majority expected to be shut tomorrow. and the scottish conservative party conference, which was due to start on friday in aberdeen has been called off. even when the weather improves, it will take some time for this deep snow to clear. further south from where we are in lincolnshire, the military were drafted in today, with 4x4 vehicles to help nhs staff get to work in hospitals and to help transport patients as well. i have been taking a look at picture across eastern england. britain is battling with some of the most brutal winter weather for yea rs. not only the so—called beast from the east, but also now storm emma, coming up from the south.

motor touristings have been stranded —— motorists have been stranded in snow falls and sub—zero condition, the aa say roads like this one in norfolk are like ice rink, drivers venture out at their peril. trying to get home. i phoned in to work, i am stuck in a drift. i won't be in. so trying to get home. work, i am stuck in a drift. i won't be in. so trying to get homem work, i am stuck in a drift. i won't be in. so trying to get home. it is is really deep. i am just only abe to get through in low ratio, i don't think i have enough traction to pull the car through. what you going to do? go home and have a cup of tea. that is answer to everything, i think. in lincolnshire which has been especially hard hit, police are warning people to think carefully before they set off on any kind of journey. it has been a challenge, we have seen significant snow drifting across the country, particularly on the east coast and to the south—east. we have seen a number of roads closed due to vehicles that

have been stuck, predominantly hgvs but there is a challenge today with lower temperatures and higher wind. it is so bad in lincolnshire, the military have been brought in, to help the nhs transport hospital staff and patients. we are co—ordinating ten drivers and vehicles from two mechanical squadron to ferry essential personnel from there, to where they are required. these personnel helping individuals but also from the emergency services. it is absolutely freezing. some people we re absolutely freezing. some people were determined to get to work, even if it meant walking for several hours. i like a challenge. i wouldn't be defeated. i am dedicated. i wanted to relieve the fight staff that were still here so they could go home. and to look after patients. for meteorologists this is officially the first day of spring, it certainly doesn't feel anything like it. and there is a warning that

in some parts of the country, these very cold conditions could last well into next week. and just to say later in the programme, we will be hearing more about how the raf are helping transport people around lincolnshire, where the snow is causing such sub stab shall problem, my colleague ben ando will be reporting from there just after half past, for now, from gateshead, back to you in the studio. with me now is louise lear from bbc weather. we are feeling guilty that ben is out there in those horrendous temperatures an let us talk about some of that. let us talk in fact about the red weather warning, that is the south—west of course. about the red weather warning, that is the south-west of course. really unusual, as well, to get these red warnings, that is worth stressing, we haven't had one for snow since 2013. now we have had two, in the consecutive days but different ends of the country. if you take a look

at this graphic. showing you where the red is, it is a small area but significant. a red impactjane, means take action, this is really serious now. potentially the weather is so bad it could bring with it a loss of life. don't travel unless you have to. we are talking for south wales, blizzard like condition, gale force gusts of wind and bitterly cold, so there will be and bitterly cold, so there will be a lot of drifting, poor haves built over the next few hours to come. that is ins for until two clock tomorrow morning, —— in force, when they say don't travel unless your journey is absolutely vital, they mean that. these warnings are issued by the met office, they have to reach certain criteria, and as i say, they are very rare now, so these are not issued lightly, there are isa these are not issued lightly, there are is a significant risk now to be travelling, in the south—west, for the next five or six hours and we cannot stress that enough. we could

see as much as 50 centimetres, half a metre of snow in exmoor and dartmoor. we will see 20—30 widely. it isa dartmoor. we will see 20—30 widely. it is a significant storm. and very quick thought ability going in tomorrow. i know you will have a full weather forecast but a thought about where we are headed tomorrow morning there will be a lull in proceed, we m&s not forget we have snow showers in north east england, not as heavily or why spread, there will be a lull in things tomorrow morning but then we expect this same storm system to push again, more moisture, so more snow across the south coast, to the south of london, which is a slight question mark, how far north is it going to come into the london area? it looks likely to be mostly to the south of london, into the midland and again, into the south—west of england and south wales and that is later tomorrow. all right. see you shortly for your normal full length weather forecast. thank you for now. we'll have more on the big freeze and a full weather forecast

at the end of the programme. and you can keep up to date with the weather and travel situation wherever you are, by visiting the bbc news live page, that's at bbc.co.uk/news. you can also get live updates on the bbc news channel and your local radio station. this is bbc news at 5 — the headlines: a red weather warning is in place for south—west england and south wales with the onset of storm emma. it means conditions pose a risk to life. snow and ice continue to wreak havoc across the uk. hundreds of drivers were left stranded in central scotland overnight. elsewhere there's travel chaos

at airports and on the trains. theresa may meets the eu's donald tusk in downing street. preventing a hard irish border is high on their agenda. and in sport, scottish rugby say they're appalled to hear that eddiejones suffered physcial and verbal abuse after their win over england. the england head coach was confronted by a group of men outside a train station in manchester after posing for a picture. there was another incident on hisjourney to london. jones says he won't travel by public transport in the future. arsenal take on leaders manchester city in the premier league tonight, with arsene wenger in the firing line again, four days after their league cup final defeat against city at wembley. and england women's head coach, phil neville, takes charge for his first game tonight against france, in the she believes cup in the usa, as they look to improve on their third—placed finish from last year. i'll be back with more

on those stories at 5:30pm. the independent inquiry into child sexual abuse has urged the government to pay compensation, within 12 months, to all surviving child migrants who were forced abroad in the years after the second world war. its report published this morning says the treatment british children from poor backgrounds was "indefensible" and entirely wrong. about 4,000 children were sent to australia, canada and elsewhere — and some were sexually and physically abused. our home affairs correspondent tom symonds reports on the inquiry‘s findings. they have been called britain's lost children. at the end of their lives, they are still blighted by the horrors they faced when very young. newsreel: the liner arrives at fremantle from great britain with 931 new migrants for this country. many were in care when sent

in the post—war years to live abroad, as they were told, in the sunshine. but some ended up in places like this, the boys school, called bindoon in western australia, the inquiry was told it was run by paedophiles, who used their position to inflict vicious abuse. we were 60 miles from perth, we had no parents, we had no relatives, there was nowhere we could go. these paedophiles must have felt they were in hog heaven. these paedophiles must have thought they were in hog heaven. the child abuse inquiry‘s verdict today — the migrant scheme should never have happened. successive governments failed to end it, and surviving victims should be paid compensation within 12 months. this was their reaction. now that the finger has squarely being pointed in the direction of the british government, it cannot be let to stop there. we need now to pursue this issue. there is a time span on those of us that are left, we are all getting past our use by date.

we want to die knowing that justice has been served. the evidence of what went on has been in the national archives ever since, but was neverfully considered in this country