Freezing rain causes havoc on region's roads (From The Northern Echo)

Freezing rain causes havoc on region's roads

8:00am Friday 10th February 2012 in News By Stuart Arnold

DRIVERS have been urged to show “extreme caution” after icy conditions led to a series of accidents on the region’s roads.

The warning from police comes as temperatures are again expected to plunge overnight to as low as minus 7C in some parts of Yorkshire and minus 3C in the North- East.

Several lorries either jackknifed or overturned on a stretch of the A66 between the A685 at Brough, in Cumbria, and the A67 at Bowes, near Barnard Castle, yesterday morning, closing the road for more than seven hours.

Police and the Highways Agency closed the snow gates at 5am and reopened the road at lunchtime after the area had been gritted.

Meanwhile, a woman and her seven-year-old daughter suffered minor injuries when their car skidded on ice in Ashby Crescent, in Blackhill, near Consett, and crashed into two stationary cars.

The girl was taken to hospital for a precautionary checkup after complaining of chest pains following the deployment of the car’s air bag.

Durham police said there had been numerous minor collisions around the county caused by a combination of rain and freezing temperatures and said drivers should show extreme caution.

Advice includes moderating speed, keeping a safe braking distance and keeping screenwash topped up, preferrably with winter varieties.

On Tyneside, a motorist suffered what were described as “possibly life threatening injuries”

after being thrown over a barrier on the Blaydon Flyover, on the the A695, west of Gateshead, shortly before 6.45am yesterday.

He had got out of his car after it was involved in a pileup with other vehicles, but as he did so he was struck by a passing car, falling some distance to the surface below.

A spokeswoman for North Yorkshire County Council said up to 10,000 tonnes of grit had been spread on priority routes over the past week.

She added: “We are monitoring the network carefully as freezing rain washes salt away.”

Snow flurries were expected in the North-East last night with up to 3cm of snow falling in Yorkshire.

The bitterly cold weather led to an alert being issued by the region’s NHS.

Phil Bain, strategic head of emergency preparedness at NHS North East, said: “We have seen some horrendous icy conditions over the past few days and we are asking everyone not only to look after themselves, but to take time to check on those who are more vulnerable to ensure they are warm, have enough food and any medication they might need.”

A spokeswoman for South Tees Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust said they had seen a couple of hypothermia cases in the past few days, although this was typical for the time of year.

In Middlesbrough, the elderly have been encouraged to stay “comfy and cosy” as part of an awareness campaign being run by the local authority.

Sally Webb, a forecaster with MeteoGroup, the weather division of the Press Association, said clear spells tonight would mean another severe frost.

Temperatures are expected to recover slightly over the weekend and should fall no lower than freezing (0C) on Sunday.