More than 1,500 meals were shared between eight charities after school closures due to the snow.

Network Rail Scotland has just tweeted pictures of the snowplough making it through to Carlisle station down the West Coast Main Line.

Image source, Newtwork Rail Scotland

Trains are still not expected to use the line for the rest of today.

Image source, Network Rail Scotland

Rail services across the UK are experiencing mass disruption as Storm Emma and the 'Beast from the East' have heavily affected travel:

• Arriva Trains Wales, external has suspended a number of routes until 13:00 including all Valley lines, Newport to Carmarthen, and Cardiff routes to Barry Island, Penarth, and Pontypridd
• CrossCountry services, external to Scotland will not be running today and services between Edinburgh and Newcastle will not run until at least 16:00. Links between Birmingham, Southampton and Bournemouth are blocked due to an overnight broken down train
• East Midlands trains, external are severely disrupted by the snow, with the line between Nottingham and Skegness not running at all. Other services will see disruption
• Greater Anglia, external trains in Norfolk are heavily affected with services to Norwich severely impacted
• Services to Exeter and Bristol on Great Western Railway, external will not run on Friday, services to Weston-Super-Mare will be reduced
• Hull Trains, external is running a significantly reduced service with the route between Doncaster and Kings Cross experiencing delays, revisions and cancellations
• ScotRail will run a significantly reduced service after cancelling all routes on Thursday. You can check the available trains on the National Rail website, external
• Southeastern, external expects to run the same revised timetable as it did on Thursday, with significantly reduced services between Kent and London
• Southern trains, external are unable to run from Portsmouth Harbour or Southampton Central with a reduced service on other lines
• South Western trains, external is closing its services on Friday due to the adverse weather conditions, and a train which was stranded overnight
• Virgin Trains East Coast, external are running a significantly reduced service and no services between Newcastle and Scotland. It is not providing alternative road transport to Scotland from Newcastle
• Virgin Trains, external are not running any trains between Carlisle and Scotland, there are delays between Lancaster and Preston, and Milton Keynes to Watford Junction

The Army has been called in to help rescue hundreds of motorists trapped on the M62 motorway due to the severe winter weather, police confirm.

BBC News Travel

Heavy snow between Hereford and Birmingham means all railway lines on that stretch are shut this morning., external

West Midlands Railway says it's causing problems with line side equipment and they are working to get some services running., external

Monica Rimmer
BBC News

Just an update on the problems on the M6 and M40 this morning,.

Highways England says it has gritters and snow ploughs clearing the M40 between J13 and J12 after a lorry crashed into the central reservation - that section remains shut.

Image source, OFRS

While problems continue on the M6 southbound between junction 13 for Stafford and junction 12 for Telford. Several cars came off the motorway near Cannock earlier due to black ice.

The Northumberland National Park Mountain Rescue team tweeted these photos to show the conditions on the England-Scotland border yesterday where they and other teams helped rescue 17 stranded motorists.

One of the team was almost waist deep in snow.

Image source, @Thelocalyidiot

A man who died after being pulled from a frozen lake in south-east London has been identified by police.

Stephen Cavanagh, 60, fell into Danson Park in Bexleyheath on Wednesday afternoon.

Mr Cavanagh, who lived nearby, was rescued by a member of the public, police said, but later died in hospital.

Earlier reports that he had been in the lake trying to rescue a dog were denied by London Ambulance Service.

Image source, Robert Luther

About 50 rail passengers who left London Waterloo early Thursday evening remain on their train more than 14 hours later.

The train has been stuck between Christchurch and Hinton Admiral and South Western trains says Network Rail is working to get it moving again.

Robert Luther 48, from Poole, was returning from work in London.

"We've been stuck here for 11 hours - it must have been close to zero degrees in here last night," he told the BBC.

"We had three foil blankets between 30 of us. A few of us have put plastic bags over our socks and inside our boots - a tip we heard on BBC News yesterday."

Another passenger, Dave Taylor, said people had been trying to sleep, but it was "so, so cold".

"They are using the term 'arc-welded' to the track," he said. "A fire brigade medic had arrived to check no casualties. No power. No lights. Nothing. Refreshments have run out."

In all, about 1,500 schools in the West Midlands are shut today, more than double the number yesterday.

Birmingham City Council said all of its maintained schools were shut due to the weather conditions.

Several roads are shut due to snow, while other routes are suffering partial closures or delays due to a number of crashes.

West Midlands Police described the conditions as "horrific" and "dangerous".

Yesterday saw widespread disruption involving flights to and from UK airports with some runways shutting down completely. Will today be any better?

Here is the latest from the major airports around the UK:

• Heathrow:, external Flight schedule has been "consolidated" to reduce delays, check with your airline before you travel to the airport
• Gatwick:, external "Many flights" cancelled today, check with your airline before travelling to the airport
• Stansted:, external "Some flights" may be disrupted, check with your airline before travelling to the aiport
• London City:, external Delays and cancellations to flights today, check your with airline before travelling to the airport
• Glasgow:, external The airport has re-opened today but a "large number" of flights have been cancelled, check with your airline before travelling to the airport
• Edinburgh:, external Disruptions expected, only travel to the airport if your airline confirms your flight is going ahead
• Manchester:, external Dozens of cancellations already this morning and more expected, check with your airline before travelling to the airport
• Birmingham: , externalDelays and cancellations but airport is open, check with your airline before travelling to the airport
• Bristol:, external Will re-open at 9:00 GMT, check with your airline before travelling to the airport
• Cardiff:, external Will re-open at 9:00 GMT, check with your airline before travelling to the airport
• East Midlands:, external Cancellations and delays to flights but the airport is open, it is "essential" you contact your airline before travelling to the airport
• Teesside:, external Delays and cancellations to flights, check the airport website or phone your airline before travelling to the airport
• Southend:, external Open as usual but check with your airline before travelling to the airport

An ambulance that was stranded in Weymouth has been helped by a farmer and his tractor.

On Friday South Central Ambulance Service asked 4x4 drivers to help ferry paramedics at one of their Hampshire bases.

The M62 between junctions 24 and 21 remains closed on Friday morning after hundreds of drivers remain stranded after spending the night in freezing conditions.

Some people have been stuck for more than 12 hours, with dozens of volunteers taking supplies to people and rest shelters in Oldham and Milnrow.

Mountain rescue teams are assisting emergency services to reach the stranded drivers.

For a second day running, snow in Scotland has left drivers trapped in their vehicles.

Police have said 20 to 30 vehicles became stuck in snow on the A92 near Inverbervie in Aberdeenshire shortly before 7:00 GMT and efforts were under way to free them.

The road is currently closed.

Linda Serck
BBC South

Passengers stuck on trains in Dorset are now being rescued after spending the night without heating, food or water.

A number of trains were stuck on the line from Waterloo to Weymouth after running out of power following ice on the conductor rail.

Harold Hanna, from Barton on Sea, was stuck on the line between Sway and New Milton in Dorset overnight and told BBC Radio Solent a rescue train had arrived.

He said that despite the freezing conditions there was a "Dunkirk spirit" among the passengers.

Police in the south west of England say they have rescued "hundreds" of stranded motorists overnight and are calling on local residents to be more selective with their decisions to leave their homes.

The region's head of road policing is asking people to "have a more literal interpretation of the word ‘essential’".

Stories of emergency workers going the extra mile have been coming in thick and fast during this week's heavy snowfall.

In Lincolnshire, most major roads are blocked, so firefighter Dan chose to walk 15 miles from Binbrook to Louth in order to get to his shift, a day early.

Schools across Wales are closed on Friday after blizzards battered the country overnight.

More than 1,100 schools will not open, after mass school closures on St David's Day.

Image source, Dave Taylor

Passengers on a 17:45 South West train from Waterloo to Weymouth have been stranded overnight.

Passengers have been told that the train is arc-welded to the track, and they are currently stranded outside New Milton.

Dave Taylor, who is on the train, said there is no power, no lights, and no more food.

South Western tweeted a customer saying that Network Rail staff were on site to try and get the train moving.

Philip Brown said there are about 50 people on the train, many are cold.