Snow in North East closes more than 400 schools

Drivers were warned of treacherous conditions on some major routes

More than 400 schools across the north-east of England were closed and motorists warned of treacherous conditions after more heavy snowfall.

For the fifth day running up to 6ins (15cm) in some places and more is expected to fall on Monday night.

Newcastle Airport and Durham Tees Valley Airport were closed for a short time, but have reopened.

Around 500 homes in Wooler, Northumberland, were left without power, but supplies have been restored.

CE Electric said there was a high-voltage fault in the network which was believed to be weather-related.

Among the major roads where hazardous conditions were reported were the A1 and the A19.

Many dual carriageways were down to one lane.

Dozens of schools in Northumberland, Tyne and Wear and County Durham have been forced to closed and there are dozens more closed across Teesside.

In North Tyneside, bin collections were suspended with teams redirected to gritting and snow clearing duties.

A revised timetable of train services was being operated on the East Coast Mainline.

Police warned drivers to consider how necessary their journeys were and to take care if they really needed to go out.

They urged people to adapt their driving to the conditions, such as moderating their speed and keeping their distance from other vehicles.