Travel disrupted as snow and ice take toll

A MOTORIST was attacked and his car badly damaged following a row over snowballing.

The man was driving along Hall Road in west Hull at about 5.45pm on Tuesday when a group of children started throwing snowballs at his car.

He pulled up and got out to tell them to stop when two people on a yellow Peugeot moped arrived on the scene.

The moped’s pillion passenger, a boy aged about 17, first had what police describe as a “verbal altercation” with the motorist.

He is then alleged to have attacked him before trying to steal his car keys.

The boy also jumped on the car’s bonnet and stamped on its windscreen until it smashed.

He is described as white, skinny and about 5ft 9in tall. He was wearing a grey hooded jacket and black jogging bottoms. SEVERE WEATHER continued to cause major travel disruption across the region and the UK and Ireland.

Road closures, stranded vehicles and cancellations were widespread due to snow and ice.

Services on trains and planes were disrupted, with travellers urged to check with their transport provider before setting off on their journeys.

Drivers have been advised to avoid unnecessary journeys and stick to major routes where possible if they must travel after the RAC had its busiest day in 10 years on Tuesday with 9,500 callouts.

In Yorkshire, the A61 was shut between Harrogate and Skipton due to the conditions, while further north, in Durham, the A66 was closed between the A1M and A685.

The A1 in Durham was also closed between Scotch Corner and Catterick after a lorry jackknifed.

Rail passengers across Britain suffered from delays and cancellations yesterday, with almost all operators affected by the conditions and travellers are still being warned to avoid going to or from Scotland today.

There were cancellations of flights departing or arriving at Heathrow, with British Airways axing at least 103 services on mostly short haul routes while at Leeds Bradford airport all flights due to land before 4.30pm yesterday were either cancelled or diverted, and many departures were also unable to operate.

The misery was compounded when a bridge collapsed in Coach Street in Skipton just before 3.30pm yesterday, creating a hole in the road which swallowed two cars and left two other vehicles teetering on the edge of the drop. No-one was hurt in the incident but nearby buildings were evacuated while investigation works into the collapse take place.