Upto six inches of snow forecast for Wiltshire (From Swindon Advertiser)

Upto six inches of snow forecast for Wiltshire

3:40pm Wednesday 6th January 2010

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FURTHER snow is to continue to fall across large parts of south west Britain followed by clear skies, bringing sub-zero temperatures and treacherous conditions on the roads, forecasters said.

The worst-hit areas have been central southern England and parts of the South West, with counties affected including Wiltshire and parts of Gloucestershire.

Up to 6in (15cm) more is forecast in the worst-affected areas of Wiltshire and possibly some parts of Somerset.

A Met Office spokesman warned: "When this system slips away to the south it will bring clearer skies behind it and widespread freezing temperatures overnight.

"There will be some treacherous conditions."

Meanwhile, in Gloucestershire on Tuesday night, many commuters had to abandon their vehicles as the snow began falling, with Stroud, Cirencester and Cheltenham particularly badly affected.

The Honda car plant in Swindon closed on Wednesday after bosses decided to suspend production to avoid staff making dangerous journeys to work.

First Bus cancelled all services in Bristol, Bath and Somerset and hundreds of schools were closed.

Bristol and Exeter Airports closed their runways to allow snow to be cleared, leading to severe disruption to flights.

Also hundreds of schools were closed in the South West, including all those in Bath and North East Somerset, as North Somerset Council already announced that all schools within the authority will be closed tomorrow.

So far on Wednesday, 330 schools in Gloucestershire, 143 in Wiltshire, about 200 in Somerset and some 80 in Bristol have reported closures.

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