Road closed and six cars stolen in 30 minutes as West Midlands wakes to icy temperatures
Up to £100,000 worth of cars were stolen while they defrosted in the West Midlands this morning, as the region woke to freezing temperatures.
But in Wolverhampton, the cold was not the only challenge after a burst water pipe left people in the east of the city with low water pressure as they prepared for work and school.
Thieves struck across the West Midlands when vehicles were left to warm up with their engines on, while the owners presumably took refuge from the shivering cold.
Officers from the Central Motorway Police Group said six cars were stolen in 30 minutes and warned the public never to leave their cars unattended with the engine running - whatever the temperature.
The crimes happened after thermometers dropped to several degrees below zero overnight, leaving cars covered in frost across the Black Country and Staffordshire.
Up to £100,000 worth of vehicles were stolen, including an Audi A3 in Knowle, a Mazda in Castle Bromwich and a Ford Mondeo in Dorridge.
West Midlands Police are also investigating how thieves managed to get the keys and steal a car from Summerfields Avenue in Halesowen.
Meanwhile residents of Deans Road in Wolverhampton were left frustrated, freezing and with little water after Severn Trent closed the road to repair a burst water pipe.
Water had spilled across the carriageway, some of which had frozen, leaving a dangerously icy crossing for pedestrians.
It is not known when the pipe burst, but the water company said the repair was taking longer than planned and apologised to people in WV10 and WV11 for any reduction in pressure.
The road, which runs between Wednesfield Road and Willenhall Road, is set to remain partially shut throughout the day as the water company works to fix the bust main.
Reporter Nick Humphreys was at the scene:
A spokesman for Severn Trent said: "We know how difficult it is to have no water, especially during busy times of the day when you're trying to get ready for work and school, we're very sorry for any trouble caused and hope to get things back to normal very soon.
"Unfortunately due to the location of the leak there will be a road closure in place to allow our teams to work safely and to keep road users safely away from the work area.
"We aim to have the pipe fixed today and the road back to normal within the next couple of days. Again we'd like to apologise for any disruption this may cause."
Another cold night ahead
If Monday night seemed brisk, Tuesday evening is set to be biting, with forecasters predicting the coldest night of autumn so far across much of the UK.
The sun rose to reveal another sunny and clear day this morning, but thermometers are unlikely to reach more than 6C (43F), according to meteorologist Mark Wilson.
And while it is unlikely overnight temperatures for the entire UK will drop lower than the coldest of the season so far (-12C (10F) in parts of Scotland last week), temperatures in some areas are forecast to get as low as -8(18F).
Mr Wilson said: "We're pretty confident it will be one of, if not the, coldest night of the autumn so far."
He added: "For the bulk of the country, it's going to be a cold day. Across much of the southern parts of the country we're expecting harsher frost."
While the overnight frost forecast for the central and southern regions was "fairly unusual", it would be unlikely to pose any real risk or disruption to the public, Mr Wilson said.
He said:" Although it's going to be cold, there aren't going to be too many hazards."
"There isn't too much water, it's going to be dry."
In the major cities on Tuesday, London is expected to peak at 5C (41F), Edinburgh edge towards a top of 7C (45F) and Manchester reach a highest temperature of 3C (37F).
The imminent arrival of the colder conditions comes as the Local Government Association's (LGA) annual winter readiness survey shows that councils are well prepared for plummeting temperatures with a substantial stock of grit.
About half are at the limit of storage capacity, and the LGA said gritters will be out treating thousands of miles of roads whenever overnight temperatures drop below zero in the coming days.
Councillor Martin Tett, LGA transport spokesman, said: "We are well prepared for the cold, with 1.2 million tonnes of salt stockpiled and a fleet of state-of-the-art gritters ready to be deployed."
Public Health England has also warned civilians to remember that "cold does kill" even in locales that are not experiencing the coldest temperatures.
December 1 marks the beginning of meteorological winter, which lasts until February 1.
