Scots face 'worst driving conditions imaginable'

Date: 17/12/2010

Drivers have been warned of "horrendous" conditions on the roads as another band of Arctic weather threatens to cause travel chaos.

The return of the big freeze has closed airports and schools as well as causing rail and road delays.

Gavin Hill-Smith of the AA said: "There are horrendous driving conditions in some parts, especially in Aberdeenshire, with driving, drifting snow and bad ice making for possibly the worst driving conditions imaginable, even for experienced drivers."

Travel problems will be particularly bad today (December 17th) because people are beginning to head off for Christmas breaks and the retail distribution network is attempting to clear its backlog of deliveries, he explained.

The AA confirmed it has already received 3,000 call-outs this morning and expects the figure to rise to 18,500 by the end of the day.

A number of severe weather warnings for heavy snow have been issued by the Met Office for areas such as Northern Ireland, Wales, Scotland, the Midlands and south-west England.

Posted by Mary Treen