A red weather warning is in place, with fears lives could be in danger as Storm Emma brings more blizzards.

Victoria Snell chose to have her leg amputated after six years of "constant pain".

Rob England
BBC News Online

Continued snow overnight and freezing rain will make driving conditions potentially dangerous on Friday, Devon County Council has said.

"People may be tempted, waking up on Friday morning, to think it's business as usual and try to go about driving to work as normal, but they shouldn't," said Cllr Stuart Hughes, the cabinet member responsible for highway management.

"The roads are snowy and icy, and until we're out of this immediate cold snap, and until gritters and snow ploughs have had a full chance to make the network safer to use, we're advising to stay off the road," he added.

The warning follows a day of heavy snow fall in many parts of the county, including vehicles that had to be left abandoned on roads that became "impassable".

Staff from Devon County Council, the police and Highways England, are among those working through the night to free stranded drivers.

Vehicles left stranded on Haldon Hill prompted Chudleigh Town Council and Kenn Parish Council to open emergency respite shelters for drivers and passengers on Thursday evening.

Okehampton Community College opened its doors with refreshments and blankets, staffed by volunteers, to people stuck on the nearby A30.

"We ask people to heed the warnings, use their common sense, and make other arrangements in the morning," Cllr Hughes said.

Image source, Devon and Cornwall Police

Rob England
BBC News Online

Further poor weather conditions across the south west are likely to cause similar problems on the roads tomorrow, according to the highway operation control centre in Devon.

Hugh Griffith, from the centre, says the council, working with Highways England and police is "starting to get on top of" conditions that have stranded hundreds of drivers across the county.

The latest, he says, is that gritters are assisting trapped drivers at Sourton Cross.

Mr Griffith said the A386 from Tavistock was "very bad". He added: "We've got problems down there but haven't been able to get there."

Resources from Exeter have also been deployed to help drivers on the A376.

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Drivers on the A30 in Okehampton are told to stay in their vehicles and not take "unnecessary risks".

Police say there are about 300 vehicles stuck in snow near Okehampton on the A30.

Sgt Dave Thubron said emergency services were dealing with "very high winds and drifting snow".

Miles Davis
BBC News Online

A driver says he has been stuck in his car in the snow for about six hours.

The man, who only gave his name as Eddie when speaking with BBC Radio Devon, said he was on the A30 near Okehampton and trying to get to Exeter.

He said the problems were caused by HGV vehicles blocking the dual carriageway.

Police have said there are hundreds of drivers and passengers stranded on the A30 and said emergency service workers were doing everything possible to get them to safety.

BBC Radio Devon

Hundreds of drivers and passengers are still stuck in their cars on a road hit by heavy snow according to police.

Ch Supt Glen Mayhew told BBC Radio Devon police had been so far unable to clear the vehicles from the A30 near Okehampton.

Ch Supt Mayhew said emergency services were doing everything they can to get people off the road and to emergency reception centres set up to deal with the crisis.

He said anyone who is stranded should stay in their car rather than go outside into the freezing weather.

Miles Davis
BBC News Online

A highly-experienced police officer said the weather on Thursday was "the worst in 25 years of policing".

Sgt Olly Tayler is one of the emergency service workers out helping hundreds of stranded drivers in Devon.

David Braine
Weather Forecaster

A very cold night with heavy snow is expected.

Strong south east winds will lead to the drifting of snow and blizzards, and the snow could turn to freezing rain in southern areas.

Minimum Temperature: -2 to 1C (28-34F)

Further extensive snowfall is anticipated throughout much of Friday, although winds will gradually ease.

Conditions are likely to begin to slowly improve across the south and west very late in the day.

Maximum Temperature: 4 to 7C (39-45F)

Rob England
BBC News Online

Stagecoach South West has suspended all bus services this evening.

The company said it would review the routes tomorrow morning.

A spokesman said: "The safety of our passengers and staff is paramount and, as it stands, this means it is unlikely we will be able to run any rural services or routes in Exeter and east Devon."

He added: "We will advise on Plymouth and Torquay once we've been able to assess the situation."

The company said it hoped to run a "reduced service" in north Devon, on the 21 route to Barnstaple town.

Sarah Chapman says her journey across Devon and Cornwall was only made possible by her 4x4 vehicle pictured below.

She says she has now reached Plymouth via Launceston.

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Drivers are stranded on the A38 at Haldon Hill near Exeter.

Police are still working to clear the traffic.

Drivers are advised to stay in their vehicles and keep warm.

Rob England
BBC News Online

Gritters will be out on all of the 25 gritting routes drawn up by Cornwall Council and gritters fitted with snow ploughs will be sent out again at midnight and 04:00 on Friday.

A council spokesman said all major roads were passable, but added "road surface temperatures will be low" increasing the risk of icy roads.

The council advises members of the public not to travel if avoidable.

Thanks to Dartmoor Search and Rescue Ashburton for sharing this video from the scene at the top of Haldon Hill near Exeter where scores of drivers have become stuck in the severe weather.

Rob England
BBC News Online

An "internal critical incident" was declared at Royal Devon and Exeter Hospital earlier today because of today's poor weather conditions, according to the trust.

All staff and resources have been diverted to patients already in the hospital's care and those receiving care from community teams.

Pete Adey, the trust's Chief Operating Officer, said patients should only attend their booked appointments on Friday "if it is safe to do so".

"Appointments for all of the patients who cannot reach the hospital and those we have needed to postpone in light of the weather conditions will be rescheduled as soon as possible," he added.

The trust said the Honiton minor injuries unit would reopen at 09:00 tomorrow, with the Tiverton and Exmouth units opening at normal time - but also said this was subject to change.

Miles Davis
BBC News Online

The snow has created some incredibly dramatic landscapes around the Westcountry that are rarely seen.

Surf photographer Dan Sedgwick took this picture looking across Perranporth beach on the north coast of Cornwall.

Image source, Dan Sedgwick