£15m worth of cold weather payments expected
- 00:01:17
- ITN
£15m worth of cold weather payments expected
Britain's big freeze is causing chaos as thousands of motorists are left stranded. Record numbers of motorists called for emergency help during the rush hour on the busiest day of breakdowns in five years as parts of the UK plunged to minus 11C (12.2F). The AA and RAC said the situation was worse than it had been since 2004, with more than 40,000 call-outs over the past 36 hours. Thermometers fell to minus 11C in Aboyne in northeast Scotland and Shap in Cumbria in the early hours of Tuesday. The mercury showed minus 10C (14F) in Farnborough, Hampshire, and in Capel Curig, North Wales, overnight. The greatest surge of breakdowns were recorded in the Bristol, Bournemouth, London and Birmingham areas. A spokesman for the AA said: "Today's even busier than yesterday. We were getting 2,800 call-outs for assistance every hour. People must be prepared. We cannot highlight enough how important it is for travellers to take extra layers with them." A spokesman for forecaster MeteoGroup said: "The situation could remain largely the same until Sunday. We have not seen such a cold start to the year in some time." The Met Office issued a severe weather warning for London and east and southeast England as gritters were deployed across the country. Rosie Winterton, Minister for Pensions and the Ageing Society, said pensioners should not worry about turning the heating up as the Government has increased Winter Fuel and Cold Weather payments for the elderly. Police in Cumbria warned that children were risking their lives by playing on the ice covering one of England's largest lakes. Youngsters were seen on Saturday trying to smash holes with boulders as they played on the ice 50ft from the shore on Derwentwater in the Lake District.
ITN | January 6, 2009
