The big freeze caused chaos in northern England yesterday, as residents battled power cuts, school closures and blocked roads.
A white blanket covered swathes of countryside including the Lake District after heavy snowfall and temperatures as low as -12C hit some areas over the weekend.
Stranded motorists in Cumbria were forced to abandon their cars and seek shelter.
Dramatic pictures from Ambleside and Ings showed residents continuing to clear the snow that fell over the weekend.
Cumberland Council said nearly 40 schools were closed yesterday due to the conditions.
A power cut was still affecting 541 customers last night, according to Northern Powergrid.
Most of the affected properties were in Leeds, Newcastle, York, Middlesbrough and Hull.
Some 800 customers in the North West remained without power yesterday after heavy snow damaged miles of overhead lines.
Stephanie Trubshaw of Electricity North West said: “Our teams are continuing to battle difficult conditions and are facing a significant engineering challenge to carry out mass
repair work.”
Meanwhile, flooding was set to cause problems further south.
The Environment Agency issued 28 flood warnings, mainly in Dorset and Somerset, as heavy rain caused river levels to rise.
Flooding yesterday blocked the railway line between Taunton and Westbury.
And drivers were warned of “very treacherous icy conditions” in some areas last night after more sub-zero temperatures.
