'I hoped I wouldn't go into labour as snow fell'

Whitehaven came to a near standstill when heavy snow fell on the town in 1996

As the snow kept piling up outside her home, pregnant Dianne Richardson hoped her baby daughter would not arrive early.

It was 5 February 1996 and heavy snow brought Whitehaven and the surrounding areas in west Cumbria to a near standstill for days, in what was dubbed the "worst snowfall in over 20 years".

Many staff at Sellafield, the nuclear plant a few miles from the town, were also snowed in, with some forced to sleep in their offices or lend a hand in the canteen as staff could not get into work.

Pictures shared by the nuclear company on their social media have prompted memories to flood back.

"All I could think was please, don't let me go into labour early, because how on earth would they get to me through this?" says Mrs Richardson as she recalls the events of that day.

She was heavily pregnant with her daughter and she had to go and collect her two young boys from school when the heavy snow started.

Her husband Gerard was in Manchester buying products for his wine shop, Richardsons of Whitehaven, which he still runs in the town.

"We had iron gates - 5ft6in to 6ft (1.67m to 1.82m) gates - and I remember watching the snow climb up them," she recalls.

"The snow went halfway up the gates, if not more."

Community spirit

Mrs Richardson says she felt scared in the moment and had rung her husband to warn him the weather was getting bad and he should make his way home.

But he later admitted to her he thought it was "her hormones" making her panic over the snow, and he did not set off straight away.

Mr Richardson got stranded in Frizington, a few miles away from their Whitehaven home, and ended up sleeping on the floor of a farm, unable to get back to his wife and children.

"I think he learnt his lesson to listen to his wife," jokes Mrs Richardson.

"What was fabulous and I think what is great about this area, is that the neighbours all rallied round."

The roads were difficult to navigate for three to four days, Mrs Richardson says, and even shops were struggling to get deliveries.

But her neighbours were looking out for her, ensuring she had enough food for herself and her children.

Many Sellafield workers were unable to get home and had to sleep under desks

And while Mrs Richardson was stuck at home, many remained stuck at work, including some working at the Sellafield site.

One worker recalls it being a "long shift" as she manned the phones at the nuclear plant for the communications team.

"I got a couple of hours' sleep under a desk and then helped serve breakfast rations the following morning.

"Eventually I made it home the following afternoon - it was an adventure."

Another worker says she spent three days on site, sleeping there and keeping warm with laboratory coats, as food was being rationed in the canteen.

But some had a lucky escape.

One former apprentice said: "We had to walk through site in the deep snow to get to the train station, where we managed to get the last train going south - the train was that busy it was standing room only."