It was snow joke!

TODDLERS HAVE FUN . . . The Pies pre-school in Waterhead with their snowman. From left: Hannah Barratt-Maher (three), Debbie Williams, Ruby Coates (four), Kati Fitzgerald and two-year-old Elijah Pomfrey

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But if you didn’t have to drive, it was loads of fun

HALF of Oldham’s schools were closed due to yesterday’s heavy snow and subzero temperatures.

Wintry conditions forced the temporary closure of 52 out of 110 schools in the borough, giving many youngsters the chance enjoy the four inches (10cm) of snow that fell during the night.

But while fun for some, bad driving conditions during the morning rush hour prompted furious travellers and businesses to complain that no gritting had taken place on roads and there was no salt in many roadside boxes.

Delph baker Denise Wildes, from Clarksfield, said: “The salt bin was completely empty.

“It had not been replenished for months.

“Cars, vans and lorries were skidding all over the place — there has not been a gritter or snow plough in sight.”

But Councillor Mark Alcock, cabinet member for the environment and infrastructure, said the local authority’s entire fleet of road gritters were available and deployed as required from late Monday afternoon.

He said: “We had been monitoring the weather conditions throughout yesterday — something that we do routinely at this time of the year anyway — and were entirely prepared to swing into action which we did as early as 4pm on Monday when gritting of all main and secondary roads in the borough began.”

Councillor Alcock said gritting continued from midnight to 3am yesterday morning.

But a heavy downfall of snow —about 7.5 cms (3ins) — just after 5am and before early morning traffic compromised the earlier gritting work.

He said: “By the time the heavy snowfall came the early morning traffic was on the road and this hampered the snow ploughs that were already out on the roads.

“Matters were further compounded by the M62 being closed between junctions 18 and 21 and this meant motorway traffic going eastbound being diverted on to the roads of Saddleworth.

“We have some of the highest roads in the Greater Manchester area among the 508 miles of the borough’s A roads that our highways team is required to maintain, so we keep a keener eye than most when adverse weather sets in. Yesterday and overnight was no exception.”

Councillor Alcock said as further snowfall was forecast for tomorrow morning, they would continue to monitor weather forecasts and “take every reasonable opportunity” to pre-empt and respond to the snowfall.

But Saddleworth parish councillor Ken Hulme called for Councillor Alcock to “consider his position” following the morning’s chaos after Saddleworth was completely gridlocked.

Councillor Hulme had previously raised a question at Monday’s cabinet meeting, warning that, with recent increased rainfall, it was a priority to clear drains and gullies to prevent localised flooding.

He said: “Surely, with the weather warnings since the weekend, someone should have asked “Have we got a plan if it snows?.

“And, at a time when we are told to expect increasing levels of rainfall and face increased risk of localised flooding, it is vital we keep our drains and gullies open and deal with surface water.

“Unfortunately this doesn’t seem to be a council priority.

“Oldham Council charges one of the highest council taxes in the country and certainly more than any other council in Greater Manchester.

“The least they can do for all the money that flows into their coffers from Saddleworth is to keep our drains clear.”

Councillor Richard Knowles, a transport expert who lives at Greenfield, said: “There were certainly no gritters or snowploughs in the village yesterday.

“Greenfield was completely gridlocked with vehicles struggling to gain traction on roads where snow had turned to compacted ice.”

Treacherous road conditions also forced a Chronicle day trip to the Lake District to be cancelled.

Frances Hirst, promotions manager, said: “The decision to cancel was not easy but it would have been foolhardy to send coaches out when the roads have not been gritted and chaos on the roads causing such long delays.

“Efforts will be made to re-schedule the trip for later in the month and we will write to all those readers who were to have travelled to let them know what whether or not that is possible.”

‘No one at the highways department has a clue’

THE ICY blast of arctic weather wreaked havoc on the streets of Oldham yesterday.

Many motorists abandoned their cars and walked to work while others stayed warm at home.

A Werneth taxi driver said he woke up to chaos on the roads: “There were buses and cars stuck on Chamber Road. It was a complete misery. I can’t believe the council didn’t get the gritters out overnight, they should have known the weather was going to get bad.”

Grasscroft resident Margaret Dredge said a council recycling lorry and a lorry loaded with power equipment to clear trees from power lines, were both stuck on the hill outside her house.

She said: “I’ve given them a couple of brews. We never have the gritters and they never fill our salt boxes.”

A Shaw resident, from Grains Road, said the whole of Shaw was at a standstill and Ripponden Road was chaotic, with drivers dumping cars at the roadside.

He said: “The bin wagons were stuck on Ripponden Road and even the 9am gritting shift couldn’t get through the pandemonium.

“No one at the highways department has a clue.”

Mother of two, Ruth Hanley (32), from Delph, said her partner had crashed into a house after thick snow covered ice at one of the trouble spots.

She said: “Luckily, he was not hurt but I am furious.

“We cannot wait any longer for the council to get their backsides into gear — somebody will be killed.”

A council spokesperson said: “We have had nine gritters working throughout the night and they will continue today.

“We have ordered 1,600 tonnes of extra salt so we can cope with the worsening weather tonight and tomorrow and we will action a programme of pre-gritting, snow clearance and extra gritting.”

Greater Manchester Police sent a vehicle to join the mountain rescue team supporting an ambulance trying to reach a suspected heart attack patient in Denshaw.

Saddleworth Inspector Danny Milovanovic said: “The villages were completely gridlocked for hours.”

Forecast promises yet more snowfall

MOTORISTS faced icy conditions on their way into work this morning as temperatures dropped below freezing — but the roads were much easier than yesterday’s chaos.

However, more snow is on the way tonight with forecasters predicting up to 4in (10cm) that could again cause gridlock and school closures.

Some schools were still closed today with Blue Coat, in Oldham, and Counthill, in Moorside, among those failing to open for a second day.

There were also power cuts this morning with the bad weather affecting an overhead cable causing 1,200 homes in Delph and Dobcross to lose power at 4am. Most were back on by 6am with mobile generators put in place to get electricity to the ones still affected.

Yesterday, the heaviest early snowfalls since the November blizzard of 1996 saw hundreds of drivers stranded, accidents on the motorways and half of Oldham’s 110 schools closed.

There are fears a lengthy blizzard overnight will make conditions even worse in the morning.


Bug Rider to the rescue. . . again and again. . .

HUNDREDS of cars across Oldham may have been slipping and sliding all over the place in yesterday’s whiteout, but the skidpan highways proved no match for this nifty little number.

Throw any terrain at this 4-stroke buggy, the Bug Rider, and it will battle through, leaving more conventional vehicles in its wake, as an Oldham car rescue firm discovered yesterday.

A-C Tyres, off Huddersfield Road, specialises in vehicle rescue for council vehicles and other local firms, and owner Wayne Williams was bracing himself for a flood of calls yesterday as motorists battled through the treacherous jams.

So out came the faithful Bug Rider and Wayne and his colleague, Aaron Haigh, steamed through the more treacherous backroads leaving trails of cars in their wake.

Wayne said: “The Bug Rider is fully taxed and insured and a vehicle you can take on the road, but I mainly reserve it for going over the tops at weekends and otherwise it’s stuck at A-C Tyres not doing much.

“So I thought it was stroke of genius when one of our staff suggested getting that out, instead of using our normal rescue vans, which are not great in the snow. I’d had to abandon my car on the way into work, so it was a good move.

“We got to people who’d slid off the road in 20 minutes, getting though the slippier backroads, which none of the other cars were using, instead of waiting in jams for two hours.”

And, as more blizzards get ready to blow our way tomorrow, the trusty Bug Rider is gearing up to hit the streets once again.

“Let’s just say I’ll make sure it’s got plenty of fuel in it before the snow storms hit again” Wayne said.