Storm Bert wreaks travel chaos with roads closed, trains axed & ferries cancelled – as snow building ‘thick and fast’

STORM Bert is wreaking havoc with the UK's question network, with road, obstruction and ferry routes each facing important disruption.

A bid of six reddish question alerts person been activated, portion the Met Office has announced yellowish and amber upwind warnings covering swathes of the nation.

All of the North, Wales and Northern Ireland, arsenic good arsenic overmuch of Scotland and the South Coast are braced for terrible conditions.

An amber warning for snowfall and crystal covers a conception of the Scottish Highlands, portion different for snowfall lone stretches from conscionable northbound of Manchester to Newcastle and past westbound to the Borders.

Forecasters accidental the storm could bring "heavy rain, beardown winds and disruptive snowfall to parts of the UK done the weekend".

They added that this could perchance origin immoderate question disruption and adjacent flooding.

And the archetypal fractional of that prediction has already travel to pass, arsenic National Highways raised six superior question alerts.

Officials announced that the A66, which crosses the Pennines successful North Yorkshire, would beryllium closed successful some directions owed to dense snow.

Likewise, the adjacent A628 has been deed with agelong delays betwixt the A616 and the A57.

Drivers person been advised to question "alternative routes" including the M60, M62 and M1.

Further south, the A14 is closed successful some directions from J36 to J37 arsenic a effect of a "serious collision betwixt 3 cars".

One of the vehicles is reported to person rolled and determination is "no indication" of however agelong the closure volition stay successful place.

Drivers travelling westbound are urged to exit astatine J37 and divert on the A142, A1123 and A10 earlier rejoining astatine J33.

There is nary authoritative diversion successful spot for eastbound motorists, who are advised to usage "local routes" to debar the shutdown.

Heading South West to Hampshire, the A34 is closed southbound betwixt the A272 and the junction with the M3.

This is owed to different "serious collision", this clip involving a tree.

A afloat diversion route, making usage of the M3, tin beryllium recovered connected the National Highways website.

The Severn Bridge, which allows cars to transverse successful South Wales, is closed successful some directions owed to beardown winds.

The M4 Prince of Wales Bridge remains unfastened and tin beryllium utilized instead, but other postulation is expected.

Finally, determination is simply a further informing for the North East successful its entirety, with roadworthy bosses predicting "three to 5 hours of dense snow" which volition "accumulate rapidly astatine each levels".

This includes the closures of the A66, arsenic good arsenic disruption connected the A628 and M62 arsenic anyplace betwixt 2 to 4 inches of snowfall fall.

Drivers are advised to program their journeys successful beforehand and cheque the way earlier mounting out.

More accusation tin beryllium recovered connected the National Highways website and via its determination X feeds.

You tin besides telephone its 24/7 interaction centre squad connected 0300 123 5000 for "up to the minute" updates.

Elsewhere, ferry operators person cancelled oregon restricted respective services implicit the weekend.

Select DFDS sailings betwixt the UK and France person been cancelled, arsenic person immoderate P&O and CalMac routes astir Scotland and Northern Ireland.

On the railways, Avanti West Coast has cancelled each services northbound of Preston, portion South Western obstruction has asked passengers to lone america the enactment westbound of Basingstoke wherever essential.

There are velocity limits successful spot crossed Scotland and the Borders, starring to agelong delays, portion ScotRail has cancelled oregon shorterned prime services astir Inverness, Glasgow and Carlisle.