Travel warning amid heavy snowfalls

Mar 22 2013

Heavy snow is causing dangerous driving conditions and school closures in some parts of Scotland.

Dumfries and Galloway has been worst-hit by the treacherous conditions, with police in the area advising motorists to stay off the roads.

The force said drivers could face severe delays of up to several hours. Up to 10 inches of snow has already fallen in exposed parts of the region, where more than 100 schools were closed. Forecasters have said there is more wintry weather to come for most of the country.

The south-west of Scotland and the Lothians and Borders area have been issued with an amber "be prepared" warning from the Met Office while the Highlands and Western Isles, Grampian, Strathclyde, Tayside, Fife and central Scotland areas are on yellow "be aware" alerts. The warnings are in place until midnight on Saturday.

Thirty-five schools are closed in Aberdeenshire, 10 in Argyll and Bute and 16 across Ayrshire, as well as Dyce Academy in Aberdeen and both Dalgety Bay nursery and primary school in Fife.

Dumfries and Galloway Constabulary said: "Conditions for travel are extremely dangerous and you should avoid the specified roads, and if you do travel you will experience severe disruption. Congestion caused by vehicles may restrict emergency, recovery or winter maintenance vehicles from providing essential assistance or from clearing roads."

Tayside Police also asked drivers to take extra care in the area, with drifting snow causing some disruption. It said people should make sure their mobile phones are fully charged before travelling and to make sure they have enough fuel, food and water to last them in the event they are delayed for a long time.

Power supplies in the west of Scotland have also been disrupted, especially on the Isle of Arran and in parts of Argyll, Ayrshire and Dumfries and Galloway. SSE said the whole of Arran has lost power, affecting 10,000 homes and businesses on the island and in Argyll.

A spokesman for the provider said: "We are sending extra engineers to the worst-hit locations. We're fully mobilised and working hard to restore supplies to our customers."

In Dumfries and Galloway, ScottishPower said the Wigtownshire area near Newton Stewart is worst-affected, as well as "pockets" in Ayrshire, with a total of about 2,000 people without power.