Snowed under

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Oldham wakes up to coldest day on record

WEATHER chaos greeted New Year commuters and returning schoolchildren in Oldham today on what is believed to be our coldest day on record.

Temperatures plummeted to -10.7C (13F) at 5am this morning, beating the previous record of -10C (14F) on January 12, 1987.

The adverse weather conditions saw hundreds of pupils and teachers given an unexpected extra day off with schools including Blue Coat, Counthill, St Chad’s in Uppermill and Saddleworth School closed for the day. Parents are advised to contact the schools for updates.

Three people were left stranded near the Denshaw crossroads for five hours in the early hours of Sunday morning.

The motorists had come off the M62 at junction 22 Rishworth Moor and got stuck in blizzards shortly after.

Warning signs telling drivers of the treacherous conditions had been activated from the Oldham side but not from the other end meaning anyone coming towards Oldham would not be aware.

Four police officers helped to dig out the stranded motorists, who were not injured, before a snow plow arrived to help.

PC Nigel Hyde, from the traffic unit, said snow was blowing in from the moors and the high altitude made the road extremely dangerous.

He added: “Road users need to be aware of inclement weather conditions and not drive on roads that haven’t been cleared — especially at high altitude. The council can only keep main routes clear and won’t endanger the lives of drivers.”

And the bad news is, the wintry weather looks set to continue.

Oldham Chronicle weatherman Damian Rodgers said: “The icy snap will last for at least a week and there might be heavy snow at the weekend, although it’s difficult to forecast this far ahead.

“Temperatures plummeted to -10.7C at 5am this morning which is the coldest I’ve ever recorded in my 30 years of weather experience.”

Travellers were slammed by the leader of Britain’s top mountain rescue team for threatening the safety of road users in the hazardous snow blitz. Mick Nield, head of the 50-strong Oldham Mountain Rescue Team, launched a salvo after the team turned out in support of seven rescues since New Year’s Day.

He said: “Drivers are simply ignoring ‘road closed’ signs and racing on to cause major troubles for public services and ourselves.

“I was out on patrol when a van flashed past me. It got stuck.

“People are quick to blame the council, but we have different climate to other parts of West Yorkshire and drifts have got cars stuck to the depth of vehicles themselves.”

Severe weather over the weekend, which brought more than a foot of snow in some places, saw country pubs and restaurants reporting a massive slump in traditional bookings. One Saddleworth publican said he had lost more than £30,000 in trade, while other traders faced last-minute cancellations from customers too frightened to leave home in case they were left stranded.

One veteran Saddleworth retailer said: “Some places have lost more than £10,000 in the last few days alone. Customers have adopted a ‘buy and go’ policy in shops rather than browsing —they bought essentials and vanished before the weather closed in.”

However, one kind-hearted 4x4 driver, who did not want to be named, acted as good Samaritan to two women marooned with their suitcases in Greenfield. He said: “They were flying to New Zealand and needed to get a cab to the airport. But with the weather being so bad they had no chance. I took them into Oldham town centre. They were very grateful.”

Saddleworth parish councillor Ken Hulme blamed Oldham’s officials for not having enough equipment to deal with prolonged spells of bad weather. He said: “Saddleworth should see the return of its own gritting depot.”

Speaking over the weekend, councillor Mark Alcock, said: “We are confident of having enough grit to continue to hold our own against the snow.

“We had 900 tonnes delivered on Christmas Eve and more since. We are being very judicial in management of our roads system and, as promised, keeping main routes open.”