WE may have had a light dusting of snow this week, but it was nothing compared to the snowfall in the winter of 1962 and 1963.

People had to dig their way out of their homes through deep snowdrifts, and those in villages such as Bisley found themselves cut off.

A convoy of police officers brought food as Bisley residents came out of their homes to greet the first people after a postman to get into the village for three days.

After snow fell on Boxing Day, a mammoth blizzard followed three days later, continuing into the New Year.

Throughout Gloucestershire, snow clearance on more than 3,000 miles of road was one of the biggest and most demanding operations ever.

The cost of keeping the traffic moving was estimated to be thousands of pounds.

Paramedics were praised after they had to finish a journey on foot in Painswick and then carry the patient across fields.

At a house near Oakridge, they had to dig their way into a house to reach a patient who was seriously ill.

Stroud was still deep under snow by February, 1963, when more than 500 people were left without water because of frozen pipes.

Pupils returned to Leonard Stanley school on February 15 after nearly three weeks of extra holiday.

There were no meals, no milk and only chemical toilets, meaning school hours were reduced from 9am to midday.

The night of March 4 was the first since December 16 that a ground frost was not recorded.