Hundreds of motorists in Scotland were stranded following a freezing night spent in their cars on the country’s snowbound roads.
The country’s busiest routes became impassable late on Monday in bitterly cold conditions, forcing drivers and passengers in more than 500 vehicles to sleep in their cars.
Scotland’s government — which has many powers devolved from the British government in London — held a crisis meeting as police battled to reach trapped motorists.
Stewart Stevenson, the Scottish transport minister, said the country was in the grip of the “worst snow and ice conditions since the 1960s”.
Many parts of Britain have been hit by the country’s earliest widespread snowfalls for 17 years.
Around 150 pupils, teachers and parents spent the night in a school in Hamilton, central Scotland, after the heavy snow made it too dangerous for them to make their way home.
Glasgow and Edinburgh airports re-opened after a short shutdown because of the weather.
[SAPA-AFP]
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