Heavy snow disrupts life, work across UK

A blanket of snow covers houses in Blackpool, England. Pic/AP

Heavy snow and freezing rain has brought widespread disruption across the UK, with several major airports forced to suspend flights and many key roads in the north of England unnavigable. With the weather set to stay inclement on Sunday, there are concerns that many rural communities could be cut off with up to 40 cm (15 inches) of snow on ground above 300 meters (985 feet).

The National Grid, which oversees the country's electricity network, said it had been working to restore power after outages across the country. The company's live map showed power cuts in Birmingham in central England, Bristol in the west and Cardiff in Wales.

Liverpool's John Lennon Airport and Manchester Airport had to close runways and divert flights, Birmingham Airport also suspended operations for several hours overnight but said it was on schedule for "business as usual" on Sunday.

The road network was heavily impacted too, on what would have been a very busy day with many families returning home from the Christmas and New Year break and students heading back to universities. On the railways, many services were cancelled with National Rail warning of disruption continuing into the working week.

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