Snow fun in Stroud (From Stroud News and Journal)

Snow fun in Stroud

DOZENS of vehicles stood abandoned, schools were shut and motorists found themselves blocked by a giant snowball as blizzards lashed the Five Valleys.

Temperatures plummeted to -3.5 Celsius and pubs in and around Stroud were inundated with drivers looking for refuge from the freezing conditions on Monday night.

By 2pm, the situation was so bad that Gloucestershire County Council sent a 38-strong fleet of gritters to tackle the worst hit areas.

And in Chalford, 30 motorists abandoned their vehicles on the A419 Cirencester road after a 31-tonne Scania tanker skidded off the highway at 6pm.

Some parts of the Five Valleys saw five inches of snow fall in just a few hours.

Weather historian Ian Thomas, who has an amateur spot on BBC Radio Gloucestershire, said: "To find a comparable November you would have to go back to 1962."

Council employees worked through the night to ensure all key and secondary routes were treated by the early hours of Tuesday.

Meanwhile, Stroud's Parliament Street was blocked by a giant 8ft by 6ft snowball left in the middle of the road.

Margaret Bucknell, of Waterlane, Sapperton, was on her way home from Gloucester with husband Morris when they saw the snowball blocking their tracks.

"I couldn't believe anyone would be so stupid," she said. "It was sheer vandalism and it could have killed someone."

"People were getting out of their cars trying to push it out of the road. It took six drivers to move it."

Nigel Powell, of county highways, said drivers should prepare for the weather.

"Warm clothes, blankets and food should be carried at all times," he said. "We do have many grit heaps on our minor routes and carrying a spade in the boot of your car can sometimes help to get you out of local difficulties."

Conditions are expected to improve towards the end of this week, though rain and sleet are still expected.

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CHILDREN enjoyed a day of leisure after schools were forced to close for the day. Mother-of-three Emily Fowler said her sons Freddie, seven, and Billy, four, were overjoyed to learn their school, St Dominic's, had called off lessons for the day. "It would be different if I was working, but it was lovely to spend some time together," said Mrs Fowler of Tabernacle Walk, Woodchester, who also has a 22-month-old daughter, Ruby. "We went tobogganing this morning and have been making Christmas cards this afternoon. "It's nice once in a while but if it went on for ages it could get irritating," she said.

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Schools that closed were:

Miserden Primary Gastrells Primary Thomas Keble Sheepscombe Primary Bussage Primary King's Stanley Infants Horsley Primary Eastcombe Primary Bisley Blue Coat Primary Cranham Primary Sir William Romney's St Dominic's Primary Oakridge Parochial Primary Amberley Parochial Primary Christ Church Primary

At the time of going to press, King's Stanley Junior school remained open.

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YOU might think the overseas sales manager for Snowbusiness in Ebley would be a bit blaz about snow. After all the company Andrew Carruthers works for sends tons of the fake white stuff all over the world, including Hollywood where it has set the wintry scenes for many blockbuster movies. But when it snowed for real in Stroud on Monday night Andrew and fiance Sarah Ellis just couldn't resist making this giant snowman in Bank Gardens. "We just felt like kids all over again," said Andrew. "It was so nice to get out and have some fun in the snow."