Thursday's live snow and ice report (From Ledbury Reporter)

10:01pm

That's it for this evening.

Looks like we're set for a chilly night.

Stay warm!

9:26pm

6:30pm

This is something done a few days ago by snow angel sculptor Ed Elliott. We thought you'd like it. pic.twitter.com/IM82l2R9

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4:44pm

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Worcestershire County Council Leader, councillor Adrian Hardman, has expressed his gratitude to everyone in Worcestershire who has played their part in helping their communities during this bout of severe cold weather.

Councillor Adrian Hardman said: "Over the last week I've seen many examples and heard lots of stories of people pulling together to help their local communities, especially elderly residents, while the snow and ice have fallen on Worcestershire.

"I'd like to say a big thank-you to everyone for their efforts. It's been no surprise to me because the fantastic community spirit that exists all across Worcestershire always comes through during such challenging times and I'm sure this will continue.

"I would like to urge anyone making journeys to take care. Our gritting teams have been working around the clock to treat roads but the message is it's never safe to assume that just because a road may have been gritted it's safe to travel at normal speeds.

"Motorists should always temper their driving according to the conditions."

4:42pm

4:02pm

Herefordshire Council waste collections:

The recent bad weather experienced across Herefordshire, has unfortunately meant some disruption to services across the county.

One of the services to have been affected is the refuse and recycling collection, especially in areas of the county which has seen heavy snow and ice.

Councillor Harry Bramer, cabinet member for major contracts, said: “We apologise for any disruption the snow and ice has brought to refuse and recycling collections across Herefordshire. 

"However, at some points during the week, it simply hasn’t been safe enough to deploy waste vehicles into certain areas, which has meant unavoidable delays.

“The decision to start collections on any given day is jointly made between the council and its waste contractor FCC Environment. 

"Collection crews are instructed to collect as normal unless the areas they are visiting are unsafe due to icy road conditions or obstructions, which would put them, residents or property at undue risk.

“Although we will always endeavour to continue our collections, even in bad weather, there is no guarantee that they will all take place, especially if conditions change during the day. 

"We are working hard to minimise any disruption and catch up with missed collections where possible.”

The advice for residents is to put waste and recycling out as normal and if it’s not collected within 24 hours to take it back in until the normal collection day the following week or in two weeks for recycling. 

If FCC Environment can return to an area later that day or the following day, they will attempt to do so, but if this is not possible, they will return on the next scheduled refuse and recycling date.

3:40pm

Worcestershire County Council update:

Forecasts indicate Worcestershire will have seen the last of 'the big snow' soon. 

However, with road surface temperatures predicted to drop as low as -5 tonight, and the possibility of further sleet/ snowfall of up to 2cm tomorrow (Friday), the county council's gritting teams are heading out again this evening from 6.30pm to treat all designated primary and secondary routes.

The County Council's Twitter account @worcscc (www.twitter.com/worcscc) has continued to be on #grittertwitter overdrive, providing updates and responses on what the gritting teams are up to, as well as giving updates on school closures, bus services and services such as social care.

The number of Twitter followers has shot up from just over 4,000 last week to over 4,800 during the severe weather so far.

Motorists are once again being urged to drive with caution, remember that gritting is not a miracle solution, and temper their driving according to the conditions.

Despite roads looking clear the extreme freezing temperatures means there's still a significant risk of ice.

Gritting teams have also been out and about refilling grit bins across the county as fast as they can.

To help residents pinpoint their nearest grit bin an interactive map is available at www.worcestershire.gov.uk/gritting, which allows users to search by postcode.

The dedicated section of the website also includes a map showing the designated routes, which are served by the 31 gritting vehicles, answers to FAQs, road safety advice and local radio station frequencies.

Jon Fraser, County Council Highways Customer and Community Manager, said: "The gritting teams have been doing sterling work over the last week to keep Worcestershire's roads open for business, and although the snow does now look to be coming to an end, roads are still icy and as always, we're urging drivers to take care, temper your speed and leave extra space between yourself and the vehicle in front to help reduce the risk of accidents on the roads."

3:17pm

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2:43pm

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1:46pm

Mystery. The owner of this Audi, who leaves near Worcester, looked out at his driver to see the bonnet of his car inscribed with a perfect 'A'.

Can anyone explain how it appeared (leave a comment on the end of this story, tweet #SnowWN, or text 80360 WN News)?

12:48pm

Staff at Little Blossoms Nursery in Upton have pulled out all the stops to remain open during the big freeze.

Owner Jane Clive sent us this picture of children and grown-ups alike making the most of the weather by playing snow games in the orchard. 

11:50am

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10:10am

Library Services:

Stourport Mobile Library will be off the road again this morning as it is still being repaired. Areas covered include Rock, Heightington, Bliss Gate, Far Forest, Bayton and Callow Hill on the Thursday B run.

Kidderminster Library is open as usual but has network problems and, as a result, cannot be contacted by telephone or email. We will provide an update when the situation changes.

9:56am

9:02am

A WORCESTERSHIRE sculptor took advantage of being snowed in to create this attention-grabbing creation in the shadow of the Malvern Hills.

When overnight snow prevented Ed Elliott getting to his studio at Trumpet Corner, near Ledbury, he decided to head to Malvern Common and see what he could create “just for a bit of fun”.

But the striking 4ft x 12ft sculpture, which took about three hours to create, quickly became a web sensation after Mr Elliott 27, posted pictures on his Facebook page and found it shared hundreds of times in a matter of hours.

Mr Elliott, who normally works in wood and has previously produced a similar angel sculpture for the National Trust, said: “I’m just a big kid at heart so working in the snow was really good fun.

“It was actually surprisingly easy, a lot more so than using wood.”

While clearly not something he can continue year-round, Mr Elliott said he enjoyed it so much that he may now look at entering an official snow sculpting competition.

“It would be brilliant to create something really big,” he said.

8:10am

8:06am

Worcestershire Hub

The Worcestershire Hub Contact Centre will be open between its normal times of 8am to 8pm for residents seeking information about possible service disruptions. The number to call is 01905 765765.

7:50am

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7:46am

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