Snow chaos hits schools

The long-anticipated Arctic weather saw an inch of snow dumped early on Wednesday, leading some headteachers to close their schools for the day.

Thousands of motorists were stuck in massive jams on roads across the town. Some took two hours to travel just two miles into Bolton town centre.

Rail, bus, tram timetables

Canon Slade School, Bradshaw Brow; Greenfold School, Highfield Road, Farnworth and the Deane School, off Junction Road, were among the schools which had to close because staff could not make it into school.

There were a few wintry showers on Tuesday night, mostly sleet and hail, but the main snow arrived for many parts at around 6.45am, quickly covering the town's roads.

It took some motorists two hours to travel into Bolton town centre from Bury New Road, Breightmet.

There was chaos in Little Lever as motorists struggled to get up the hill at Hall Lane, heading towards Moses Gate.

Drivers experienced similar problems in Harwood, where they were unable to get their vehicles along South Drive.

Bromley Cross was badly hit. Darwen Road became gridlocked as people made their way to work and to drop off their children at school.

One woman said she had moved a mile in half an hour.

Traffic moved very slowly on motorways near the town. Cars were travelling at 30mph to 40 mph on the M61. On the A666 coming into Bolton from Manchester, motorists were not moving into the snow-covered inside lane, meaning queues quickly built up.

Delays were caused on the M62 near Prestwich after an accident at around 7.15am.

Trinity Street, Bolton, near the railway station, was also heavily congested.

Motorists also had difficulty negotiating the treacherous Chorley Old Road between Horwich and Bolton. And Chorley New Road, in Horwich, had become gridlocked by 8.30am.

One motorist, speaking from near the Texaco garage, said the council could have done more to keep the roads in better condition.

He said: "This is just crazy. The council has been caught out before. They knew this weather was coming and I don't think they have done enough to make the roads safe."

But Bolton Council said it had worked "flat out" to try to keep the roads clear of snow and ice.

A spokesman said 25 strategic routes, including bus routes and roads near the hospital, had been continually gritted over the past three days.

Ten gritters from the depot in Mayor Street, on the outskirts of the town centre, completed work on the routes twice and, after a shift change, they were treated again early on Wednesday.

The spokesman said: "We have put more grit on the roads than is recommended over the past three days.

"We have also had people putting grit on paths in all the town centres. We have worked flat out."

Anyone with queries about the roads can call the customer service line on 01204 336600.

A spokesman for the Highways Agency, which grits the motorways, said: "We have been gritting all night, starting from 7pm. We have done another round at 4.30am and then again at 7am and are still out now. We are expecting another band of snow, but are not anticipating any problems."

Elsewhere, First North Western apologised to customers after services were affected through Bolton, Manchester, Preston and Blackburn because of points failures.

First Manchester, which runs many bus services in the town, said: "Most of our services are running on time, although one or two estate roads which have not been gritted have proved a problem."

Motorists are being warned by the AA to take care while the extreme weather lasts.

The Met Office expect a widespread frost on Wednesday night across Bolton with temperatures dropping to -2C. Thursday is forecast to be cold, windy and dry, with maximum temperature at 6C.

However, the cold snap is expected to end at the weekend, with rain and mild temperatures forecast for Saturday.

Metrolink services between Bury and Whitefield were suspended because of points failure on Wednesday morning.