this is bbc news. i'm julian worricker. the headlines: parts of the uk are warned over blizzard conditions — as storm emma sweeps in from the atlantic. a red weather warning is in place for south west england and south wales — it means it could pose a risk to life. drivers are told to stay at home. it is quite dangerous there and we're very focused now into preserving life and trying to get people home. my god, oh my god! snow and ice continue to wreak havoc across the uk , hundreds of drivers were left stranded in central scotland overnight , as chaos looms for many travellers. got stuck here about eight o'clock last night. not moved an inch yet. i'm ben brown and i'll be reporting from gateshead in the north east of england where it's been a day of blizzards, brutal winds and sub—zero temperatures.

we'll have the very latest from across the uk , and of course that all—importa nt weather forecast. today's other main news. the prime minister holds talks with the european council president donald tusk in downing street ahead of her major speech on brexit tomorrow. british children forcibly sent abroad after 1945, and many of them abused, should receive compensation, an inquiry says. good evening and welcome to bbc news. it's been another day of heavy snow and sub—zero temperatures across the uk — and there's more to come. parts of the country are expecting up to 50 centimetres of snow; and a red weather warning — which means there is the potential for widespread disruption and loss of life — has been issued by the met office for south—west england and south wales.

that'll be in force until the early hours of the morning. three people have died in the icy conditions, including a seven—year—old girl who was killed when a car crashed into a house in looe, in cornwall, though it's not yet clear to what extent the weather was responsible; there's been widespread disruption to transport across the country, with many train journeys and flights cancelled, and drivers stranded on roads in many areas, from wiltshire in south—west england to stirlingshire in central scotland. we'll bring you reports from around the country in this hour; first here's danny savage, who spent the day in teesdale, in county durham. in teesdale in county durham, communities woke up to find themselves entombed in snow. yes, they are used to winter weather here, but it hasn't been this bad for years. behind every frozen door was a snapshot of life around the uk today. children off school and parents

wondering just how long this is all going to go on for. childcare is an issue for a lot of parents and we end up with a house full of children. we've got old people, vulnerable people that unfortunately can't get out. it's hard, you know? we dig each other out, there's a lot of community spirit that goes on. and they were digging out from first thing, with all ages lending a hand before it snowed again. here in middleton, in teesdale, the unofficial snow depth is... 33 centimetres. venturing out into the countryside around here was a battle with the elements. what's different today is the wind and the immense wind—chill that comes with it, that's whipping the falling snow and the stuff that's lying around into these huge drifts. exposed to the strong easterly wind, drivers in norfolk ended up in bother, too. and out came the shovels. i phoned in to work and said i can't make it, because i'm stuck in the drift.

i won't be in, so i'm just trying to get home. it's really deep. i was onlyjust able to get through here. so this is going to be tricky, and i don't think i've got enough traction to pull this car through this snowdrift. what are you going to do? go home and have a cup of tea. i think that's the answer to everything, isn't it? neighbouring suffolk saw more heavy snow, too. lincolnshire, again, was beset with problems. this van will not be going anywhere for a long time. make sure if the public stop and speak to you, please engage with them. more than happy, you're doing a good job, and you know why you're doing it. a control centre was set up to coordinate raf units drafted in to assist emergency services. this is what trans—pennine a—roads looked like in north yorkshire. and this wasn't even on high ground. the a65 between skipton and kendall was best avoided. in ireland, a severe weather warning has been issued for the republic. the siberian freeze from the east has crept further west. sales of anything to do with coping with snow have lept.

it's all very different to what you might expect for the first day of spring. danny savage, bbc news, county durham. heavy snow is continuing to fall across large parts of scotland — although the red weather warning in place earlier in the east has been lifted. at glasgow airport some passengers are preparing to bed down for a second night after it was closed again today. hundreds of drivers were left stranded in freezing conditions on the m80 near glasgow — some for up to 20 hours. earlier, one gave the bbc this update: i left aberdeen yesterday afternoon ina hire i left aberdeen yesterday afternoon in a hire car at 430. i drove for a while, conditions were bad. i got stuck here, which is, i believe, on

the m 80 somewhere near stirling and falkirk. since eight o'clock last night. we haven't moved an inch since then. i've not seen much of the police but the fire brigade delivered some 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 locals have set up motorway bridge and locals have set upa tea motorway bridge and locals have set up a tea and coffee stall for anybody needing any refreshment. lorna gordon is near to the m80 and sends this report. scotland's road to nowhere. hundreds of drivers stuck in miles of stationary traffic on what is usually one of the country's busiest roads.|j on what is usually one of the country's busiest roads. i got stuck at eight o'clock and i've been here since unfortunately. that is a good i7 since unfortunately. that is a good 17 hours. around that, yeah, moved

about 100 metres in the time. last night some old boys came out with biscuits and crisps and this morning it was all the schoolkids that came out, so we're getting looked after. two biscuits, thank you very much. the worst of circumstances bringing out the best in people, volunteers handing out food and water to those stranded in their cars. this forecast was forecast well ahead of time but despite the warnings people did still venture out. now, after waiting nearly 18 hours on this stretch of motorway, it looks as if, finally, the traffic mightjust be about to start moving again. police officers clearing the way ahead one by one. we've been coming up and down the northbound carriageway because of the queueing vehicles and the vehicles stuck most of the night... it's hard work. very much

so, bring the public reassurance to say we're getting to them, albeit slowly. the appalling weather saw even the emergency services struggling at times. no worries, thank you, cheers. those who have experience of working in these extreme conditions have been putting their knowledge to good use. we are picking up a prescription for somebody out in the countryside who hasn't been able to get in to get essential medication, so we're going to ta ke essential medication, so we're going to take it to them. for much of the day trains in affected areas have been off and the vast majority of flights cancelled from edinburgh and glasgow once again. there was fun for some. but with blizzards, freezing temperatures and drifting snow, there are serious concerns for those out in these conditions. even as those who could heeded the warnings to stay at home. and

tonight across much of scotland it is bitterly cold. those biting winds putting temperatures to well, well below zero. there are still weather warnings in place, advice do not travel unless absolutely essential. everybody keen to avoid the repeat of the road chaos we've seen over the last 24 hours. for just to let you know, for those worrying about him, john gent — the driver who sent us those updates from the m80 — is now out of the hold—up, and the last time we spoke to him he was in worcestershire on the m5 and on his way home. so good news for him, but for many others, the news is a great deal worse. with me is edmund king, the president of the aa. it seriously worse for a lot of people. it really is, today has been abysmal on the roads, many drivers have been stuck, literally, on a road to nowhere, notjust in scotland, but lincolnshire, part of

the south—west, parts of south wales. there are hotspots across the country. to put it into context, we've had something like 30,000 calls for breakdowns and crashes today, about three times what you would expect an a similar day at the beginning of march. we've had extra patrols on them, extra garages, even four by fours to take staff to the call centres so they could deal with these problems. it is a combination of things. people driving out, they might be in four by fours, they become complacent, cocooned in those cars. you hit the eyes, you can still skid off. we've had a lot of those minor shunts. a third of insurance claims today are about the snow and ice. with those extra patrols you talked about, how quickly can you get to some of those

people? it varies, what we've been doing today is giving absolute priority to vulnerable people or people in dangerous situations. people with young children. pregnant mothers rescued. elderly people rescued, who are vulnerable. but people at home, it's quite true, they've had to wait quite a lot longer than they normally do, just because we have to prioritise. i heard a story today, there was an elderly lady in chatham, her car couldn't get up the hill, the patrol said and walk. she had bad knees, she couldn't walk. he put snow socks on her car, drove it up for her and then got out, carried her shopping. you saw in the film from the m80 locals helping people out. there have been lots of acts of kindness despite this atrocious weather. the red alert areas, are those the areas you are tending to concentrate on?

what we try and do, obviously there are problems through the uk, we do try and put more resources into where we know the weather is going to be worse. the south—west of england tomorrow we'll be appalling. blizzards. parts of wales as well. the problem with blizzards from dreiser ‘s —— for drivers, its visibility, you literally cannot see and it's incredibly dangerous. in those cases drivers should listen to the emergency services and if they say the road is impossible, they should heed that advice. ideally you don't want to go out in this. some pretty much have to. in no circumstances how can people best prepare? doctors, nurses, surgeons have to go out. it's about being prepared. my top tip would be make sure you have at least half a tank of fuel. if you do get marooned, if you get stopped on a highway like on

the m80 last night, at least if you've got fuel you can turn the engine, but the heat is on and keep warm. do that and be prepared. if little things like have concentrated windscreen wiper wash with all of the salt on the roads, sometimes if you just got water in there it'll freeze so have concentrated fluid. another tip, have a piece of cardboard or a square foot of carpet in the boot. if you do get stuck in snow, in the boot. if you do get stuck in show, you in the boot. if you do get stuck in snow, you can put under the rear wheels and itjust gives you enough friction to actually get you on your way again. it's about being prepared and driving smoothly, not erratically, don't break harshly, don't accelerate harshly. pull away in second instead of first gear. following those tips in most conditions you can keep safe. thanks very much indeed for coming in. robert hall is among those stuck on

the roads, he's near warminster in wiltshire and send this update. ican i can say from personal experience that travelling tonight from east to west is absolutely horrendous. that travelling tonight from east to west is absolutely horrendousm that travelling tonight from east to west is absolutely horrendous. if i put the window down hopefully you can see that. it's driving snow. we've probably got six or seven inches here. we left winchester where we'd done a live report at about 4:30pm. it's two and half hours so far and we're now at a village jake laid to the west of warminster the problem is as the traffic slows any salt on the road is getting cove red any salt on the road is getting covered up by snow, so whereas initially down as far as salisbury plain we were doing quite well, beyond salisbury plain where it is more exposed, every time we come to a hill this happens and we end up stationary because vehicles are getting stuck, particularly large

lorries are getting stuck at the side of the road, people have to go around them. and so on. so it goes on. as people spend their wheels it compacts the snow, polishes it and makes it even more slippery. we were intending to get to possibly exeter on the m5 tonight but ahead of us we already know the a303 is shut. we like a lot of other people i suspect we'll be in here or trying to find somewhere to kip until the morning when it gets lighter and we can crack on again. we might be able to come back to you later with more information but i can't emphasise enough those warnings that go out and people say don't drive unless you've got to we have reason for being out here. i think it's absolutely sensible for people not to try. people trying to get home i would encourage them to stay with somebody until the morning. south wales and south west england are expected to bear the brunt of the bad weather tonight. there's a red weather warning in place for those areas. in a moment, we'll hear from our correspondent..

sian lloyd in merthyr tydfil, but firstjon kay sent this report from tiverton in devon. i think ithinka i think a lot of people woke up in this part of the country this morning, looked out the window and thought, it's not too bad. even when that red alert was issued at about 8am at breakfast time this morning it didn't seem too bad for quite a long time. but crucially that red alert didn't come into affect, didn't become active until 3pm this afternoon. almost bang on the three o'clock, bang on schedule, the sky turned white rather than read across this vast area. heavy snow started falling. and with it came with the wind, the blizzards, which will whip up wind, the blizzards, which will whip up this snow and caused drifting and cause roads to be blocked. that is what authorities are worried about. people mainly going home, sitting tight, waiting to sit this out. we see people go to the shops to

stock up with essentials ahead of this storm coming in. meanwhile the police and authorities are dealing with numerous incidents. we've heard tonight a little girl, a seven—year—old girl, has died in cornwall, not clear whether it is related to the weather. at the same time police on holden hill outside exeter, a notorious spot which is steep, where there is snow, they tried to get the traffic in and out of there. multiple incidents. the key m essa g e of there. multiple incidents. the key message tonight is to try to get in. to stay inside, to stay warm, and then to stay put until this is all over. the snow is falling here and it's feeling bitterly cold. i'm in the centre of merthyr tydfil and it's pretty deserted. because people have been heeding the warnings here. the red warning came in early today leading in an increased response with more schools closing, thousands of hospital appointments cancelled, and businesses being closed. and we're expecting much more bad weather as we head into tonight.

the beast from east has travelled west. most of south wales had previously escaped snow but today that changed. this county is one of those where a red extreme weather warning is now in place. teams who usually work in the council forestry division were drafted in to deliver hot meals to those unable to leave their homes, like stanley todd. he is worried that bad weather will prevent his care workers from reaching him. what it stops is people calling. which normally several people a day call for a chat oi’ several people a day call for a chat or whatever. various, you know, services. so that'll be... make it very lonely. the weather warning covers blizzards and high winds, which could pose risk to life.

remote hilltop communities are used to seeing the bad weather coming in, the valleys, towns below are also heeding this warning. in merthyr tydffl heeding this warning. in merthyr tydfil schools had been warned to close. more than 1000 are shot across wales. —— shut. 0ne close. more than 1000 are shot across wales. —— shut. one of the only shopkeepers to open today soon gave up. usually a busy centre, it looks more like a ghost town. people had heeded the warnings given to avoid travel. i think if there is a risk to life, then you've got to ta ke risk to life, then you've got to take sensible precautions really. obviously people are going into shutdown and panic mode. i think it's starting to worry people. the welsh transport secretary warned people to leave work early with the weather expected to get worse. sian lloyd, bbc news, merthyr weather expected to get worse. sian lloyd, bbc news, mertherydfil. the national grid has warned that it may not have enough gas to meet the current uk demand and has asked suppliers to provide more.

well we can speak now to drjonathan marshall, who's an energy analyst at the energy and climate intelligence unit, a non—profit organisation which specialises in energy and climate change issues in the uk. he joins us live from our studio in central london. thanks forjoining us. this warning from national grid, put it into context, what does it mean? from national grid, put it into context, what does it mean7m from national grid, put it into context, what does it mean? it was a notice national grid issued this morning in response to very high demand on the system and a few issues with infrastructure that brings gas into the uk. we seen the cold weather pushing gas demand one third higher than it was last week and the highest it has been for 45 yea rs. and the highest it has been for 45 years. with problems bringing gas in from norway or mainland europe, which has led to the system to be a little bit short. national grid issued a notice to the market asking if anybody had the ability to either increase how much gas they were pushing into the system to alleviate supply or to turn down how much they are using to balance the system. what has been the response to that?

it seems to have worked well, when they first issued the notice around 6am, there was panic stations but by mid—afternoon the system had balance again and now we're sort of seeing the after effects. the lag being dealt with rather than any immediate shortfall. presumably given the weather this will be an issue for the next few days. until tomorrow maybe. over the weekend we are likely to see demand die down as people aren't going to work so there isn't as much there. with the cold—weather lasting tomorrow we'll see a lot of heating demand at home and demand from places of work. what about domestic users, will they see any difference as a result of this? absolutely not. any actions national grid are taking are exclusively on business users, mainly business units if signed up for an interruptible contract. units if signed up for an interru ptible contract. they units if signed up for an interruptible contract. they pay lower price for their gas on the basis that if this sort of thing happens their supply might be cut.

other business users can be incentivised to toning down demand by payments from national grid. none of this will end up coming through to homes. 0k, thank you very much for coming on. doctorjonathan marshall. we'll have more on the big freeze and a full weather forecast at the end of the programme. you can keep up—to—date with the weather and travel situation wherever you are by visiting the bbc news live page. will find out how this story and the others are covered in tomorrow's front pages at 10:40pm this evening. rachel cunliffe, commenting features editor at city am and henry zachman, political correspondent of the times. let's catch up with sport. he is will perry. let's bring you up—to—date with the

one game in the premier league, a repeat of sunday's league cup final, arsenal against manchester city. 3—0 city won final at wembley. pep guardiola's side leading 3—0. still in the first half at the emirates. bernardo silver with a quarter of an hour played putting city ahead. not a great start for arsene wenger‘s side. the other silva made it two. the visitors in complete control in london. and then a third five minutes later, kevin de bruyne to aguero, across the goal, and there is leroy sane to tap home for city to make it three. this would extend and will extend city's lead to 16 points. 30 ahead of arsenal. phil neville will shortly take charge of england's women's football team for the first time as they face france in the super league cup in ohio. it kicks off at 9pm our time. anita was

one of the players who complained about being treated unfairly during the mark sampson era, it is her first call—up to the england squad for three years. lucy bronze ca pta i ns for three years. lucy bronze captains her country for the first time this evening. it's a huge honour, i think anyone who has ever been captain of their club or country will always say being captain isa country will always say being captain is a huge honour, but this week especially. we're playing top teams the world. there is a bit more responsibility on it. we've got a new manager. a new squad. there is a bit more to it this week. it's definitely a huge honour. going to try and do my best. i always do. yeah, hopefully it works out well. we'll keep you up—to—date with that. great britain have claimed their first gold medal at the track cycling championships in the netherlands. they beat denmark by

more than one second half the first time they've be world champions in this event since 2012 and there was special praise from the team's elder statesman. even, i think special praise from the team's elder statesman. even, ithink he is special praise from the team's elder statesman. even, i think he is the next wiggins to be honest, put it that way. he's really that good, he's good, good on the road, good on track, arguably the strongest guy in out track, arguably the strongest guy in our team today. what is he, 19 years old? in the last few minutes britain had to settle for silver in the women's team pursuit. laura kenny's first condition since the rio olympic velodrome with emily nelson, elinor barker and katie archibald. they lost to defending champions united states by more than a second. ronnie o'sullivan through to the quarterfinals of the welsh open snooker after winning twice today. he didn't drop a framing doing so. he saw david grace who managed only 13 points in the whole match. mike dunn fed with a bit better, taking 44 points of ronnie o'sullivan in

their encounter. the rocket proved too strong for his opponent. its three matches without dropping a frame for o'sullivan. the world indoor athletics championships under way in birmingham. highlights today, the men's and women's highjump finals. robbie grabarz and morgan lake. these are live pictures. newer and eric mccolgan taking part in the 3000 metres final. she's in second place. seventh in the real olympics. can she claim a first medal on the global stage? we'll keep you up—to—date with that. that is the sport for now, more in sportsday. and the result of that race. 10:30pm. the prime minister has been meeting the european council president donald tusk in downing street ahead of her major speech on brexit tomorrow.

she's expected to set out her plans for the next stage of negotiations — but there are tensions with brussels on the way ahead. the eu's chief brexit negotiator, michel barnier, says britain is closing the doors on itself, one by one, because of its insistence on leaving the eu's single market and the customs union. our deputy political editor john pienaar reports. foreign secretary, will the whole cabinet agree? time for the cabinet to stick together. too cold not to. not just the weather, the chill between britain and brussels over brexit. borisjohnson and fellow brexiteers counting on theresa may at today's cabinet to map out firm lines in her big speech tomorrow. is this government on a sure footing on brexit? former remainers, too, joining the united front. is the government skating on thin ice? a fragile truce against a chorus of critics, british and european. are you confident the brexit plan is going to fly?

without question, absolutely confident we'll make a success of it. all the doubters, though, ex—prime minister, donald tusk, what do you make of them? fantastic investment from toyota yesterday demonstrates real money invested, creating real jobs. and that speaks louder than any prediction. in downing street, they're preparing for a hazardous journey. inside, mrs may was rehearsing her brexit speech, hopes of all trade routes clear. rules made in britain, squaring with europe's, only when they suit the uk. and when the cabinet broke up, ministers were behind what they'd heard. is the plan realistic, in a word? very much so. you have no doubts? not a single doubt, yourself? not at all. wait until you hear the speech, tomorrow. the eu council president, chairman among leaders, came in for his speech preview, too. expecting to dislike a lot of it, despite the diplomatic chumminess. and in their meeting fully expected to say so. i'm not happy with... "not happy with her red lines", he said. she wanted trade with no barriers and, as he'd argued earlier, he wanted britain playing

by eu rules. there can be no frictionless trade outside of the customs union and the single market. fiction is an inevitable side—effect of brexit. in brussels, there was no backing down from the demand britain rejected outright, to avoid a hard irish border, northern ireland must stay in a customs union, if all else fails. be calm and be pragmatic. no chance of mrs may accepting that. it's been hard enough just clearing the path to the start of brexit talks, which looks like becoming very hard going. around 4000 children were forcibly sent abroad to countries like australia, canada and new zealand in the years after world war ii macro. they were promised new lives in the

sunshine. instead, many suffered horrendous physical and sexual abuse. now an independent inquiry into what went on has urged the british government to pay compensation to all the survivors. tom symons reports. a dark history. british children lied to, deported, sexually abused, even tortured. i've lived 60 odd yea rs even tortured. i've lived 60 odd years with this hate. it went unmentioned for decades. even today this is not a well—known scandal. but it has devastated lives and continues to bite them. the child migrants were from poor backgrounds, promised a better life in the sunshine. and when visitors came, especially from britain, that's how it seemed. but last year, the now—elderly migrants gave hours of chilling evidence of what their carers said.

they said that you're a nobody, you've got nobody, you've got no parents, they're all dead. ..and even worse, did. the verdict today, even by 1940s standards, what happened was indefensible. several governments ignored warnings, carefully filed in the official archives to avoid upsetting the charities and religious groups involved, or the australians. politics put before children. they ignored our plight, they encouraged paedophilia, to a degree. because they were made aware of problems in australia, where they were sending us to. and yet, they continued sending us. what does that tell you? that tells me that they didn't give a rat's backside, if you'll pardon the vernacular, about the british children. campaigners were delighted today that the british government has been held responsible. at last, a measure of truth and a measure of responsibility.

the buck stops with the government. britain apologised in 2010 but this report has called for all surviving migrants to receive compensation within a year. the government's considering its response. it's the first time this much criticised inquiry has bared its teeth. but the evidence heard in this room was never really in doubt. and this was a scandal very much of the past. the inquiry‘s other investigations may not be as straightforward. but this work had to come first because half of those who had been called britain's lost children have already passed away. it is not the best night to be heading out and about, that is

putting it mildly. there is destructive and dangerous weather on the cards. amber warnings for many, large swathes of wales in the south—west, and a red warning across parts of devon, somerset and the south—east of wales. significant snow here, piling up and drifting, grizzlies conditions. temperatures overnight dropping below freezing. —— blizzard. if some of that snow turns back the rain, ice, falling on a very cold surface, making a very slippery. the snowfall across england and wales, other areas seeing snow. north—east scotland and northern england keeping those snow showers. for the weekend, northern england keeping those snow showers. forthe weekend, called northern england keeping those snow showers. for the weekend, called for many but less cold and the south. still the risk of some snow. this is bbc news.

our latest headlines: snow and freezing temperatures have been sweeping across the uk and more is expected tomorrow. a red weather warning is in place for south—west england and south wales. our correspondent, ben brown, has spent the day in the north east of england. we are here at the angel of the north outside gateshead in the north—east of england, and it's been a day of blizzards, really brutal winds of up to 40 mph and subzero temperatures. let's just take a look at one of the roads around here. this is the a167. it is moving now, the traffic moving pretty freely along this road. it's just off the a1 and there have been quite a lot of vehicles earlier on that were stranded on the a1, but the traffic is moving here ok. around the united kingdom, this freeze has brought massive travel disruption,

not only on the roads but also the railways. trains delayed or cancelled, and the planes as well, delayed or cancelled, and thousands of schools around the uk closed as well for the day. we have had not only the beast from the east, as it's been called, from siberia, coming in with these winds and subzero temperatures, but also now storm emma coming up from the south. so a double whammy of wintry weather, if you like, on this, 1st march, and for meteorologists this is officially the first day of spring, but i have to say, right here, right now, it doesn't feel like it. even the emergency services couldn't get through the day unscathed. these pictures, captured by a car passenger, show a highways england car that caught fire while helping stranded vehicles on the m62 eastbound. junctions 21 and 22 were closed because of the fire and police asked other travellers to remain calm.

motorists have been facing traffic chaos across the country, and one area where that's been getting worse is south—west england. bbc spotlight‘s harriet bradshaw spent the day at the devon county council control room, watching the losing battle to keep major routes open. highways staff across the region are working around the clock to make sure people are safe. and the main focus now is saving lives as the temperatures drop. when i first arrived here this morning, i was told we are heading into uncharted territory because the red alert has never been delivered in devon. chris, how do you deal with a situation like that? we are clearly focusing on dealing with the risks that are posed out there. our message has been quite clear about people staying at home and not venturing out onto the network at this stage. it is quite dangerous there. and we're very much focused now

into preserving life and trying to get people's home. and this has been declared a major incident by the police. what does that mean operationally? that means that multi agency wise, the emergency services, the highways, other key people responsible, first responders, are coordinating together on a regular basis and making sure we understand what the critical issues are in devon and we are supporting each other to deliver that, particularly the preservation of life. how dangerous is it? it is not a situation we want people to go out in. we're trying to get people home. people are already getting stuck in the snow, particularly in the south of the county, and as darkness falls, beyond dusk, people will find it incredibly dangerous out there andi it incredibly dangerous out there and i would advise people to stay home and not venture out tonight. and i would advise people to stay home and not venture out tonightm terms of roads, water is the latest

information? we have taken the proactive decision of closing the a300 and 80. we understand the a 38 may be challenged and closed as well. people are having difficulty getting around the a379. some of thatis getting around the a379. some of that is possible but some of it is congested with vehicles. there are other locations where we are seeing vehicles struggling to get across the network ‘s of people are really getting caught on it now which is what we expected by this stage.|j will reiterate the message from here, stay at home. more now on the snow and freezing conditions across the uk. it's causing particular suffering for those who are homeless and sleeping rough. charities and local authorities have been rushing to help people escape the vicious temperatures, as mike cartwright reports. warm, dry, safe. beds lined up ready. an emergency night shelter.

tonight, 24 homeless people will be here and not freezing on bedfordstreets. they come in at 7pm which is great because that's when temperatures feel colder. they are given free hot food and hot drinks, bedding, somewhere to bed down, there are people to talk to, people who come and offer housing advice, connecting people to other services available on bedford. at this food bank, the restocking the shelves. as temperatures, demand is rising. the choice for some, heating and eating. we do get people were mum does not eat to make sure that children have got something. but when you get into a spiral where you are worried about losing your house, you are in rent arrears and there is no electric, on troubled the food parcels, sometimes we have to give people extra bedding, heaters from the furniture project, just keep them going.

bedding, heaters from the furniture project, just keep them goingm bedding, heaters from the furniture project, just keep them going. in a church hall, hot drinks and warmth, day shelter, a place to comment on the cold. it is really important. we set this up yesterday lunchtime at very short notice and, as we see the snow and freezing temperatures, it is getting people out the cold and potentially averting them from freezing. it is too cold. if you do not want to be freezing, you must walk all the time, but how many will ours can you walk around? we meet here, talk, read newspapers, drink hot coffee or tea. eat sweets. we spend nice times and joyful times. like many other shelters across the region to lie, they will lay out extra beds, but with temperatures well below freezing, it is a life—saver. let's talk to andrew omond from st george's crypt in leeds — a charity who help the homeless and people suffering from addiction.

tell us how busy you have been in the last 48 hours or so. exceptionally busy. we have had probably twice as many people on a night and during the day service numerous more people than we would normally see. also, just the public response, so normally see. also, just the public response, so taking an extra donations, bringing in all the other staff that people have been giving to us. very busy. have you got enough space for everybody? we do. we are crammed to the rafters, but we have got a cafe area within the charities we can put beds up there, additional beds that we put up as well, ed beds, mattresses. that is what we do as a charity. if people need us we will put up more support.

does that mean that, as far as you know, nobody is having to sleep rough on the streets of leeds during this weather? the problem is that, no matter what we do and what provision we offer, there will a lwa ys provision we offer, there will always be people who do not want to engage with services, no matter what you say, and even in these temperatures, as i say, we have seen record numbers of people coming through our doors, but there will a lwa ys through our doors, but there will always be those who do not want to engage, no matter what you offer and what you do. which is frightening to think of, given how cold it will be. that is the truth. i don't know if you can see behind me, but there is still snow, freezing cold, beating wind. it is not nice at all to be out. the street outage teams and up and down the country, trying to get people to come into this shelters and trying to get people to stay

warm. if ordinary members of the public see somebody who is probably sleeping rough and wants to do the best thing for them, what do you advise? there is an app you can download on your phone cord street link, and if you see someone, you can pass through to that it will identify the person to the nearest street support unit. all the best thing is to phone up your local street support unit, they will go out on the streets, wherever you direct them to, and pick up or at least try to engage with them. they bring coffee, tea, hot food, something. even those that do not wa nt to something. even those that do not want to engage, they can have some warmth into the middle east. we wish you well and thank you very much for coming on. —— some warmth into them. the weather has meant some rural communities have been cut off. joining me now from west linton, a village south of edinburgh,

is kerry thompson. tell us what the last couple of days have been like for you. we are used to bad weather here. we get hit by snow quite often but not quite like this. we have got 50 centimetres of snow here now and the winds have really picked up through the day. the issue we have now is thick snow which is causing really huge problems, cutting off our village. we have been able to get no food deliveries into the village today. our local pharmacy has not been able to get deliveries so people have not been able to get regular medication. it is something that we do not want to go on for too much longer because it is causing major issues. you have tried to get out and about yourself, haven't you? yes. we have a farm. we are very lucky that we have a

tractor, which seems to be one of the only vehicles you can get out and aboutan the only vehicles you can get out and about an hour. even our quad bikes cannot manage that. me, my husband and kids went out in the tractor today the clear some of the tracks. we got lots of people who live down country roads which are pretty inaccessible and impassable, so we pretty inaccessible and impassable, so we cleared those, we helped the sheep, we got under 2000 sheep that arejust sheep, we got under 2000 sheep that are just about the lamb over the next few weeks, we were helping sheep stocking drifts, we had a great day, it was great fun! we were cruising around in the tractor, helping people, which was really good. we are able to show photograph of you and your tractor a moment ago. in terms of helping people, we we re ago. in terms of helping people, we were talking about no food coming into the village, but