VARIOUS: Snowfall in the UK, Poland and Belgium
- 00:01:18
- ITN Source
VARIOUS: Snowfall in the UK, Poland and Belgium
A dusting of snow brought misery for hundreds of thousands of rail and underground passengers in and around London on Wednesday (January 27). Roads and air transport were also affected as temperatures slipped below zero, leaving around 2cm (0.8in) of snow in most areas of southern England. Heathrow Airport reported about 21 morning cancellations and a handful of delays caused by de-icing of planes but said snow had been quickly cleared from runways. Overnight temperatures in Britain are expected to slip to -1C or -2C (30F to 28F) in rural parts or around freezing point in towns such as Maidstone and Canterbury. The Poles also pulled back their curtains on Wednesday morning (January 24) to a wintery wilderness. Winter finally arrived with a vengeance in the Northeastern European country with snowfall engulfing the whole of Poland, especially the more mountainous South. Snow ploughs could been seen on Warsaw's streets in the early morning hours, pushing aside the night's drifts to make the city operational in time for the morning rush hour. An army of street cleaners with makeshift shovels were also dispatched and police were kept busy as the list of snow-related mishaps grew. Some Polish children took to the outdoor ice rink situated near Warsaw's Palace of Culture while others relished on snowball fights in public parks. Meanwhile, Belgians on the northern coast woke up to about 5 centimetres of snow on their beaches on Wednesday. Local reporters said the whole of the coastline was snowed under whilst inland, roads were blocked and cars buried. There were also problems on the train lines due to low temperatures. One truck driver said he had been stuck on a main arterial road for more than two hours and was still not moving. "We can't use the bridge over the E40. This morning, around 6AM it started snowing. I wanted to leave at 7.45AM and it is now 29.30AM and I almost went back for 14 kilometres (8.69 miles)," he said. Children, however, were more enthusiastic and said they loved the snowfall.
ITN Source | January 25, 2007
