Arctic chill grips region

Traffic chaos, burst pipes, closed schools and broken down trains; symptoms of today's Arctic conditions that always seem to take us by surprise.

As the West Midlands finally got its first major snowfalls today, forecasters warned that conditions will causing "widespread, persistent and severe problems this week.

The main burst of cold weather has so far been in the north and east. But the West Midlands was today getting its fair share as snow drifted across the region.

Click here to see snow pictures from across the region.

The frost and snow brings with it winter wonderland scenes. But it also brings problems for every day living.

Birmingham-based water giant Severn Trent today urged customers to be patient as it deals with problems caused by the freezing weather gripping the region.

As temperatures in some parts of the West Midlands dropped as low as -8C (18F), Severn Trent said calls to its customer service centre had more than doubled in the past week.

The company's senior operations manager, Fraser Pithie, said: "We're endeavouring to deal with all the calls as quickly as we can, but we would ask people for their patience during this particularly busy time.

"This current spell of cold and icy weather is going to be with us for a few days yet and the pressure on our service centre is likely to continue – so please bear with us."

Severn Trent is also reminding customers of the steps they can take to avoid any problems with frozen or burst pipes - and to know where your stop tap is so that you can act when a problem happens.

The National Grid today warned power suppliers to use less gas after a 30 per cent rise on normal seasonal demand during the cold snap.

It issued a 'gas balancing alert', only the second time that the mechanism has been used.

It is a way of warning customers to ease off on the fuel as well as encouraging suppliers to bring in more gas.

The grid has received extra gas from a terminal the Isle of Grain in Kent, and from Belgium and Norway.

A spokesman said that some power suppliers had stopped using gas yesterday afternoon which eased the pressure.

He added: "The big generators like E.ON have gas-fired power stations and coal-fired power stations. They can choose to switch from gas to coal."

In the West Midlands, workmen have been employed to crack the ice at Wolverhampton's West Park to discourage people from venturing on to the ice.

The dangers lurking on lakes and canals were illustrated on a freezing lake in Sandwell Valley, when a pensioner was pulled through the ice by his dog.

Rescuer John Ross, aged 43, a former member of the Queen's Guards, spoke today of how he leapt into action when he heard a loud crash as he was out walking with his two-and-a-half year old son Jayden on New Years Day. Mr Ross, who works as a doorman and bodyguard in Birmingham said adrenaline took over when he saw the elderly man struggling in the icy water at Swan Pool.

He said: "I had taken my son to see the ducks when I heard this almighty noise of ice smashing.

"I ran over and saw a man of around 70 had fallen through into the water and was struggling to stay afloat.

"His friend, who was of a similar age, was trying to get him out but he just wasn't strong enough.

"I lay on the jetty leading to the lake, got my arms in the water and grabbed his leather belt tight. Then I just pulled and pulled until I managed to get him out.

"It appeared he had been pulled onto the ice by his dog - a Staffie cross - which we also managed to rescue.

"He looked at me and said: 'I think you just saved my life'. The temperature in Sandwell Valley was around -3C (27F) on New Years Day and the man was completely submerged when he fell in.

Mr Ross, of Tividale, said: "His friend and I got him to his jeep and changed his coat, before they went home. Unfortunately I didn't get chance to get his name. I just hope that he is alright."

A couple of inches of snow was forecast for parts of the West Midlands today and up to six inches of snow could end up lying over "wide areas" of the UK by Friday, with the south experiencing "significant or even major difficulties to infrastructures, particularly transport".

Stephen Davenport, senior meteorologist at MeteoGroup, said: "This is stretching the limits of short to medium term forecasting but so entrenched is this cold-weather pattern that it seems only a major upheaval in the atmosphere will bring a return to something milder.

"Should conditions continue in a similar vein then by March we might just be looking back at one of the coldest winters of the last 100 years."

He added: "There are more immediate concerns in the shape of a very snowy spell this week.

"Heavy snow showers or more widespread snow will continue to move across northern and eastern areas of Britain, bringing further accumulations of several centimetres in places and causing notable disruptions to transportation.

"And the highly-populated south is likely to see snow that will at times be widespread, persistent and severe enough to bring significant or even major difficulties to infrastructures, particularly transport.

"By Friday or even sooner there will be several inches of snow lying over wide areas. In a few ill-favoured areas the persistence and heaviness of the snow could bring accumulations well in excess of seven or eight inches."

Today a band of snow was moving down from Scotland bringing the first major snowfalls to the West Midlands

Manchester Airport was forced to close early today due to heavy snow, but was due to open around 9am. Passengers are being urged to check their flight status with the airline.

Glasgow Airport said it was open, but heavy snow and icy conditions across the UK would result in delays and cancellations. Travellers were also being advised to check with their airline.

A Manchester Airport spokesman said: "A significant amount of snow has fallen overnight and Runway 1 is being cleared of snow and ice.

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"Staff are also working hard to clear the airport site of snow and ice this morning but there have been a small number of cancellations during the night.

"Bad weather is being experienced in Europe and the USA as well as in the North West of England so delays are expected on Tuesday morning.

"We encourage all passengers flying today to check with their airlines for the latest information on their flight and to make sure they leave enough time to get to the airport safely."

A Heathrow Airport spokesman said operations were not currently affected by the cold weather.

However, he added: "If it starts snowing, passengers are advised to check our website, or with their airlines."

Temperatures will barely top freezing during the day for the entire UK, with London set to be the warmest at 3C (37F).

Yesterday the AA experienced its busiest ever day, with the organisation on schedule to attend more than 25,000 breakdowns over the 24 hours.

The AA also warned that the roads were likely to be even busier today when worsening weather conditions combined with the return to school in many areas.

On the roads, heavy snow caused a section of the A66 to be shut in both directions in Cumbria and a succession of accidents added to drivers' difficulties on many routes.

Among major routes affected by accidents and lane closures were the M58 near Merseyside, the M6 in Cheshire, the M1 in West Yorkshire and the M20 in Kent.

Ten East Coast Main Line rail services between London and Leeds were among the train journeys which had to be axed.

Grit stocks in the West Midlands and the rest of England are holding up according to the Highways Agency, but Fife council in Scotland had to have several hundred tons of salt and grit delivered by the Scottish government after supplies ran low.

Local authorities in the West Midlands and Staffordshire have been working around the clock to ensure that main roads are gritted.