The army was called in last night to help rescue drivers snowed in on a main road in south-west England, which is suffering severely from the arrival of Storm Emma.
Hundreds of people were stranded for hours on the A31 in Hampshire and the A38 in Devon last night where the Met Office issued red and amber weather warnings for snow and ice, Metro reported.
The issue was declared a 'major incident' at around 9.40pm by Hampshire Police, who took to Twitter to urge drivers to stay away from the area.
Advert
The A31 is now moving again, although police are clearing trapped traffic and recovering abandoned vehicles.
"The incident on the #A31 was declared a major incident at 8.30pm," Hampshire Police wrote.
"Police have now taken the lead for this incident and we have called on the military and other partners to assist us in helping you."
Advert
The force later added that both carriageways of the A31 were blocked, while the county council were setting up rest centres for drivers and taking food and drink to those who were stranded.
Prior to the announcement people affected by the traffic were worried by a lack of police response, with actress Natasha Barnes among those taking to Twitter to express their concerns.
"Can someone please send help to the A31?? People are stranded and on their own and it's comtinuing to snow. No helicopters or police in sight and nothing online," she wrote, worried about her partner who was trapped on the road.
Advert
"The Hampshire police are seeming to be completely ignoring the situation on the A31- if someone doesn't reach out to the thousands of stranded people who have been sat there for five hours there will be a panic?"
On the A38, vehicles were also gridlocked and Highways England tweeted that authorities were getting to work to set people free from the blizzards.
Devon Live reported that a local search and rescue team and members of the public were helping emergency services to pull stranded vehicles out of the snow.
Highways England said: "Snow ploughs and gritting units are on scene to get everyone safely moving asap, if you're considering travelling tonight pls consider if its essential. Stay safe."
The south-west of England has been particularly hit by the wintry weather as Storm Emma arrived from mainland Europe, clashing with the Beast from the East which hit the UK earlier this week.
Advert
While the worst of this week's weather has now passed, yellow weather warnings for snow, winds and ice remain in place across the UK today with the temperature expected to stay cold.
Featured Image Credit: PATopics: Weather, UK News, News, Beast From The East, Storm Emma
