Rush-hour accidents add to the snow woe

Heavy snowfall brought more misery for drivers during morning rush hour yesterday with nine accidents causing gridlock on East Kilbride roads.

There were major tailbacks around the Whirlies roundabout from 7.55am following a two-car collision on the A726 East Kilbride Expressway eastbound near Evans Halshaw.

Traffic was down to one lane with both vehicles blocking the road for up to an hour before being recovered.

A broken down bus at the junction also added to the congestion around the Whirlies. There were also reports of vehicles struggling through the snow on the Queensway in both directions.

A further road collision on the A749 East Kilbride Road and a vehicle stuck further down the road at Cathkin added to rush-hour delays for some time.

A yellow warning is in force as the Met Office warn drivers to expect longer journey times due to extreme weather.

One disgruntled St Leonards driver told the News: “I was stuck trying to get out of EK for over an hour.

“From 8am, the entire town was gridlocked with the sudden blizzard.

“Buses, lorries and cars were all stranded. It was bumper-to-bumper in heavy snowfall with the roads just getting worse. The Whirlies was queued right along the Kingsway and you could see a lot of cars slipping and sliding around.”