Major incident declared in Cumbria over heavy snow

There are multiple reports of vehicles being stuck

A major incident has been declared by police in Cumbria after heavy snowfall.

Cumbria Police said it estimated about 200 vehicles were stuck in the South Lakes area, particularly around Bowness and Grizedale.

It urged people only to travel if necessary.

Earlier an amber warning for snow was issued by the Met Office, which said 10-15cm (4-6in) was possible in some areas before snowfall eased overnight.

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Supt Andy Wilkinson, of Cumbria Constabulary, said the weather was "showing no sign of letting off" and freezing temperatures down to -8.8C (16F) were expected overnight.

“Please don’t travel," he said.

"It isn’t safe this evening and it is causing a hindrance to the emergency and other response services getting to those individuals that actually do need us to get there."

Supt Wilkinson said the Grizedale Rally was cancelled because of the weather but people still travelled to the event and were now stuck.

"We are doing everything possible from a multi-agency perspective to clear the roads that we know are blocked, to get to those individuals we are aware of that are in vehicles or in isolated locations," he added.

A group of friends from the Wigton area said they had not expected the severe weather and became stuck after trying, and failing, to get into Windermere.

Nicki Simpson said they set off at 13:00 GMT "all ready to go out, Christmas tunes blasting" but ended up stuck on the motorway some hours later.

"We couldn't physically get into Windermere, the car couldn't get up the hill, so we tried a few different routes into Windermere but, by this point, they're all unpassable so we turned round," she said.

She said traffic was moving "very, very slowly" and it was "very, very dicey".

"Everyone's in the middle [of the road], you can't see the lanes and there's lorries jack-knifed," she said.

However, Ms Simpson said some patches of motorway were completely clear and they had passed one gritter and some tractors going to help stuck cars.

Speaking from the M6, she said she and her friends were "not equipped for a night on the motorway".

Earlier in the day just a sprinkling of snow fell in the Eden Valley

Supt Wilkinson said reports suggested there were about 200 vehicles stuck in the south of the county.

"Whilst we are getting through to those locations we are undertaking vulnerability assessments as to who is in what vehicles and what care, if any, they then need, or whether they are just going to sit it out wait for the roads to become clear," he said.

He urged drivers leaving their car to move it to the side of the road as far as possible.

"Some of our additional snow ploughs and gritters that are attempting to get through now are being hindered by poorly abandoned vehicles," he said.

Available police officers had been deployed to the south of the county, along with fire and rescue crews, ambulance and mountain rescue teams, he added.

There have been a number of accidents around the county and many roads are either blocked or severely congested.

The M6 has been badly affected, and various sections of the A595, A591 and A592 are impassable or have queuing traffic.

See the latest police traffic updates here.

Several inches of snow have fallen in Ambleside already

The Met Office warned disruption to transport and power cuts were likely and mobile phone coverage could also be affected.

There was a “good chance that some rural communities could become cut off”, it added.

An emergency shelter has been set up at Ambleside parish centre on Vicarage Road for anyone stranded.

Police said there was little accommodation in the town and the hall was open for anyone within walking distance, but stressed people should not try to get there by car.

Coniston Sports and Social Centre is also offering space for people who are stuck and need to stay overnight and asks that they arrive by 21:00 GMT.

The village hall in Staveley, between Kendal and Windermere, has opened up a room as a refuge centre and is sending volunteers out to bring stranded people back in.

Resident Peter Harrison said it was "great that communities are working together here”.

The snow does have some positives

Derek Campbell, who is visiting the county on holiday from the south of France, said he and his friends had been stationary in their car near Staveley for about three hours.

He said he had retuned to BBC Radio Cumbria to find out what was happening.

"We've come all the way up from the Pyrenees where we're used to this sort of weather," he said.

"I'm really not knocking the services here, because they deal with what they can, but we've got all the snow ploughs, they go out, they keep the roads clear all the time and we drive straight on up to the top of the mountain and we ski down it again.

"But, sadly you're not as lucky as us here."

Some people have been able to park safely and find accommodation

Stephen Catterall, from Holme outside Kendal, got stuck but managed to book a guesthouse after sheltering in Hawkshead.

"We knew it was only going to get worse," he said.

"Now we have to wait and see what tomorrow brings, if we can get home.”

Some motorists had to be pushed over Stramongate Bridge in Kendal

National Highways North West said it was dealing with a large number of stranded vehicles, particularly on the M6 between junctions 38 and 40.

The A590 was also heavily affected, it said, while urging people not to drive unless "absolutely necessary".

Electricity North West said more than 370 customers had lost power across the South Lakes and Eden areas.

It was dealing with six separate instances of power lines being brought down by the weight of snow, it said.

Engineers were having difficulties getting to the sites because of congestion on the roads and so the company could not say when homes might be reconnected, it said.

As well as the amber warning for south and west Cumbria there is a yellow warning for snow and ice in place for the whole county for the rest of Saturday.

The UK Health Security Agency has issued an amber cold-health alert for the health sector for the North West, along with a number of other regions in England, saying "significant impacts are probable".

The alert is due to remain in place until Tuesday.