, leaves drivers trapped and threatens Christmas as plunging temperatures and snow could cause three weeks of delivery chaos
By Lewis Bazley
Last updated at 2:11 AM on 7th December 2010
- Hundreds of drivers trapped between Edinburgh and Glasgow
- Pensioner's body found in snow in north-east Lincolnshire
- Two cyclists killed on same road where two teenage girls died last week
- Death toll of winter weather up after man dies clearing snow
- Warnings of icy roads and freezing fog across UK
- Flight cancellations at Liverpool's John Lennon Airport
Hundreds of drivers were left stranded on the main route between Glasgow and Edinburgh last night as the snowy weather continued to bring disruption to Scotland's roads.
Multiple breakdowns and traffic incidents brought 'major congestion' to the route, and motorists were advised to avoid the route until further notice.
Lothian and Borders police said there were 'numerous' problems caused by the weather that brought traffic to a standstill.
Snow go: Hundreds of drivers were trapped on the main route between Glasgow and Edinburgh
Misery: Drivers stuck in their cars for hours as they try to make their way along Scotland's M8
Mustafa Elshani told Sky News he had been stuck on the M8 motorway for eight hours - on a 17-mile journey that normally takes 30 minutes.
He said: 'I left work early because of the snow chaos.
'Some families are stuck in their cars, some car batteries are running out. People are totally desperate. There's absolutely coming no one to help, we're just being left here, stranded.'
The cold weather has taken another life and an elderly man has been found dead in snow at a caravan park last night.
Humberside Police said the man, believed to have been in his 70s, was found by security guards patrolling the Thorpe Park site in Cleethorpes, north-east Lincolnshire, on Saturday.
The pensioner's body was found outside in freezing conditions and was fully clothed.
Last night officers said they could not confirm reports he may have lay undiscovered for two days.
A spokesman said the man had not been formally identified and his death was not being treated as suspicious.
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Cross-country commute: A woman trudges through the fresh snow in Glasgow as severe weather continues across the UK
Thorpe Park is a large site of static holiday caravans by the sea on the south side of Cleethorpes, near the village of Humberston.
It is currently closed to visitors and it is understood owner-residents are also absent at this time of year as part of their site agreements.
As Britain faces another week of freezing weather, haulage firms have warned that the delivery of Christmas presents bought online could be threatened by the snow, winds and freezing fog.
British consumers are expected to spend a huge £633 million on online purchases today but courier companies said the rising popularity of online shopping and the possibility of delays and backlogs due to the icy roads could jeopardise deliveries over the next three weeks.
The warnings come after the mercury plunged to -18C in parts of North Yorkshire while more snow, sleet and patches of freezing fog hit large swathes of the country as millions returned to work after a chilly commute.
Sea of fog: The Somerset levels, as seen from the Mendip hills, are bathed in freezing fog
A cold Christmas dinner: Farm foreman Graham Marsh stands in a field full of frozen sprouts in Boston, Lincolnshire
Stephen Davenport, forecaster for MeteoGroup, the weather division of the Press Association, said: 'It was another very cold night and it has been well below freezing almost everywhere.
'Even London was close to minus 3C - it reached minus 2.8C in St James's Park.
'Only the Isles of Scilly and the far south-west of Cornwall stayed above freezing.
'It's been so low overnight that temperatures are struggling to come up.'
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