New ice warning issued as some schools close

Drivers in the South West are being warned of icy roads as some schools have closed amid sub-zero temperatures.

A yellow weather warning for ice was lifted at 11:00 GMT on Thursday, with a fresh Met Office yellow alert for ice across Devon and part of Cornwall issued for 03:00 until 11:00 on Friday.

Gritters have continued to work throughout Thursday in Devon, and Cornwall Council is sending some out from 15:00.

Adrian Leisk, head of road safety at Devon and Cornwall Police, advised commuters to slow down, while Paul Beecher, from National Highways, asked people to carefully consider their travel plans.

Some schools and colleges in both counties have closed after temperatures dropped to -7C in Devon overnight.

Cornwall College St Austell, Duchy College Stoke Climsland and Upton Cross Academy closed on Thursday, while other academies have said they will delay their opening times.

In Devon, Christow Primary School, Hennock Community Primary School, Ilsington Church of England Primary School, Moretonhampstead Primary School, Princetown Community Primary School, The Promise School and Widecombe-in-the-Moor Primary School closed for the day with others delaying opening times.

Richard Drysdale, from Dartmoor National Park, said: "Dartmoor has received a reasonable amount of snow, the roads are passable, but people should listen to police advice.

"Please have that respect that understanding that it's a living and working landscape.

"There are communities that need to get to work, they need access to emergency vehicles and farmers need to make sure that their gates aren't blocked."

The head teacher of Princetown Primary School Emma Byrom said it was "the right decision" to close.

She said: "We've got most of the staff living out of the village so they would have to travel on the roads and staff that live nearby are snowed in, so it's not easy to open."

"Families are being really understanding, which is great," she added.

Teachers planned to run online lessons during Thursday and Ms Byrom said she thought it "very likely" there would be a delayed opening time for the school on Friday morning.

Cormac, Cornwall Council's civil engineering contractors, said it was sending gritters into central, north east and south east areas of the county at 15:00.

A Cormac spokesperson warned motorists about isolated showers and the potential for sleet, and asked them to drive carefully and stay up-to-date on weather conditions.

Police road safety lead Mr Leisk reminded drivers to increase their stopping distances in poor weather.

"We're asking people to slow down - the speed limit is a limit not a target," he said.

Snow and ice caused significant travel disruption on Wednesday night in Cornwall and Devon, with some drivers spending several hours stuck on A380 at Telegraph Hill and the A38 at Haldon Hill.

In a joint statement, police and Devon County Council Highways said gritters had been mobilised from 12:00 but the snow had arrived earlier than expected, meaning it had not been possible to pre-deploy resources to vulnerable locations.

Matt Johnson lives in Tavistock and volunteers as a driver for Devon and Cornwall 4x4 Response, which uses specialist vehicles to help emergency services staff.

He said the team had helped doctors and nurses travel out to patients in their homes and they had also dealt with requests from Royal Devon and Exeter Hospital to move staff into work.

"That is going on currently as we speak," he added.

On driving in ice and snow, Mr Johnson said: "The biggest mistake most people make is trying to get traction when they get stuck.

"The best advice I have is as soon as you start to lose the traction find somewhere safe to try and stop and then basically just wait it out."

There was an accident involving five cars on the A30 at Illogan on Thursday morning, causing a westbound road closure for about three hours, police said.

BBC broadcast meterologist Bee Tucker said wintry weather is set to continue.

She said: "A few isolated wintry showers are likely today, but most places will see a lot of dry and bright weather.

"Tonight will be another cold one with the risk of frost and ice, as a wintry mix of rain, sleet and snow moves in from the west.

"Most of the snow is likely to be over the high ground tomorrow, with rain and sleet falling to lower levels."

"Next week temperatures are set to climb into double figures for most, with more settled weather persisting", she added.

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