Wales weather: Power restored after heavy snow

The last few homes in north Wales which lost power in heavy snow have been reconnected as disruption eases.

At the worst point, around 6,000 homes suffered power cuts, with Llangollen and the Dee Valley worst affected.

Scottish Power said engineers had been hampered by roads blocked by fallen trees around Llangollen and Corwen, but confirmed that all customers had been reconnected by 19:00 GMT on Sunday.

Dyfed-Powys Police said roads in mid and west Wales were all open.

A spokesperson for Scottish Power said engineers had been working hard to try to restore power supplies to all its affected customers.

"We managed to reconnect approximately 5,500 homes in North Wales across the day on Saturday and had engineers working from first light to reconnect the remaining 500 homes on Sunday.

"Some roads didn't reopen on Saturday and much of our work on Sunday required heavy digging teams just to access the fault areas, which were mainly in the Llangollen area."

Meanwhile, the RAF in Valley on Anglesey is helping remote areas in other parts of the UK during the cold snap.

A rescue helicopter carrying six members of the RAF Valley mountain rescue team has gone to Northern Ireland after a request from the Police Service of Northern Ireland.

The Met Office said it was expecting drier and brighter weather in Wales while remaining cold with biting winds.

Forecasters warned that ice could pose problems on Sunday. The cold weather is expected to linger until next weekend when temperatures could return to normal.

The snowfall caused disruption to roads and rail travel on Saturday, having moved southwards overnight into Powys and the Gwent Valleys.

By Sunday morning the situation had improved, although the A5 remained closed between the B4401 (Corwen) and the B5103 (Berwyn) in Denbighshire due to a fallen tree and snow.

Also in Denbighshire, the A525 Nant-y-Garth Pass and the A542 Horseshoe Pass remained shut.

There were concerns that some Wrexham football fans may struggle to get to Wembley for Sunday's FA Trophy final after Flintshire and Wrexham were among the areas worst hit.

Flintshire council has urged people to be good neighbours and check on elderly and vulnerable residents during the severe weather.

'Urgent need'

Social care staff are maintaining services and making sure urgent visits are made, but the council said its day centres would be closed on Monday.

"Domiciliary, residential care and supported living staff have been working hard to reach people needing help," said a spokesperson.

"People in most need have been prioritised for visits, and hundreds of phone calls and visits have been made to ensure urgent need is met.

"Staff have been in touch with families and neighbours for their help, if staff have not been able to reach people due to the weather or to meet the extra demand.

"Some staff in care homes and supported living have worked double shifts, staying on overnight in case other staff could not get in to work."

Over 200 schools closed on Friday, and there have been several weather-related road crashes over the last few days.

In Gwynedd, a couple were trapped in their car in a snow drift near Bala for 18 hours before being led to safety by rescuers at 08:00 GMT on Saturday.