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Several roads in around Chipping Norton have been blocked by the weather including the A44 and A361.

Hampshire Police's Assistant Chief Constable Dave Powell has been talking about the major incident on the A31.

"All emergency services are working as hard as they can to get to as many people as possible at the scene and give them immediate assistance."

Those stuck on the road have been urged to call 101 if they have a medicalcondition or are running out of fuel, or to call 999 in an emergency.

Hundreds of motorists have been trapped in their cars overnight on the A31 in Hampshire.

Police declared a major emergency as both carriageways were blocked from late on Thursday.

The military, coastguard and fire service helped evacuate the most vulnerable motorists from the scene and offering food and drinks to those remaining with their vehicles.

Traffic began slowly shortly after 05:00 GMT.

The South Western Railway network is badly affected, especially around Portsmouth and east of Bournemouth, with passengers stuck on trains overnight.

One passenger Robert Luther, on a South Western Railway train, said they were stuck overnight between Christchurch and Hinton Admiral.

"We have now been left stranded since 20:00 last night and still no signs of getting us off the train! We are stuck freezing cold with no drinking water and no facilities, in the dark.

"Nobody can tell us what's going on. There's more trains stuck behind us too.

Parts of the UK are braced for up to 50cm of snow, as Storm Emma brings worsening conditions.

BBC News Travel

Great Western Railway is advising customers not to travel on many of its routes on Friday 2 March, as severe weather conditions across the network are expected to deteriorate throughout the day.

A Great Western Railway spokesman said: “As it stands we are only expecting to be able to run a minimal service on Friday, and further extreme weather forecast later in the day means the train service is likely to be more affected as the day goes on.

“It is a very real concern that, even if conditions mean we can move people in the morning, we may not be able to get them home later in the day, and on that basis we have to strongly advise customers not to travel on some of our routes.”

Customers can check the latest information at www.gwr.com, or at www.nationalrail.co.uk, external.

A major incident has been called by police in Hampshire after motorists were stranded overnight on the A31 in the New Forest - where the Army has been helping to rescue drivers.

Hampshire Police say the A31 is moving again, but they are urging drivers to avoid the area while they clear the trapped traffic and recover abandoned vehicles.

The BBC's Duncan Kennedy, himself stuck on the A31 overnight, says many of those caught up in the jam were making their way home from work when conditions became impassable, he said.

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