Shropshire beating the big freeze
Shivering Shropshire was today battling to beat the big freeze with shoppers stocking up on essential goods as the Arctic conditions showed no signs of letting up. Shivering Shropshire was today battling to beat the big freeze with shoppers stocking up on essential goods as the Arctic conditions showed no signs of letting up. Sub-zero temperatures were expected to continue dropping through the night with the mercury predicted to plunge in the county to -8C (18F). In Shropshire, police issued warnings after a spate of crashes and reports of vehicles being stolen while drivers left the engines running to defrost them. West Mercia Police said opportunist thieves had stolen a car from Telford and another from St Michael's Street in Shrewsbury. Supermarket bosses said customers were stocking up on bread, milk and tinned goods as well as salt. Last night, an 85-year-old woman walking her dog had to be rescued after she fell down a 12ft golf course drainage ditch in Wellington. Full story in today's Shropshire Star
Shivering Shropshire was today battling to beat the big freeze with shoppers stocking up on essential goods as the Arctic conditions showed no signs of letting up.
Sub-zero temperatures were expected to continue dropping through the night with the mercury predicted to plunge in the county to -8C (18F).
The freezing conditions continued to take their toll on transport routes across the country today, with the Government announcing an urgent review of how Britain was coping.
In Shropshire, police issued warnings after a spate of crashes and reports of vehicles being stolen while drivers left the engines running to defrost them.
West Mercia Police said opportunist thieves had stolen a car from Telford and another from St Michael's Street in Shrewsbury.
County emergency services are having to draft in 4x4 vehicles from St John Ambulance to help with coverage on the icy roads.
Clare Thomas, spokeswoman for West Midlands Ambulance Service, said: "We usually use St John Ambulances, but the 4x4 vehicles are being more heavily used because of the weather.
A fleet of gritters was due to go out again later today on A and B roads in the Telford area between 6pm and 9pm.
Councillor Adrian Lawrence, council cabinet member for the environment, said: "We also carried out a full inspection in the early hours which identified that due to sufficient salt solution being present on carriageways from the previous gritting operation, there was only the need to grit in the Little Wenlock, the Buildwas bypass areas together with the district centres."
Supermarket bosses said customers were stocking up on bread, milk and tinned goods as well as salt.
Andrew Faulks, from Stan's Superstore in St Martins, said: "The amount of three kilogramme bags of salt that we have sold this week has risen by 1,200 per cent."
Ian Sutton, manager at Sainsbury's on the Forge Retail Park in Telford, said people had been "panic buying" items such as milk, eggs and tinned food on Monday.
Peter Briggs, store manager at Sainsbury's in Shrewsbury, said: "People were buying a lot of the essentials like bread, milk and potatoes."
A man was taken to the Princess Royal Hospital in Telford after his car hit a snowdrift and overturned on the B4378 close to Brockton, near Much Wenlock, at 5.30am.
And last night, an 85-year-old woman walking her dog had to be rescued after she fell down a 12ft golf course drainage ditch.
A passer-by who was also out walking his dog along Golfs Link Lane, in Wellington, found the woman and alerted the emergency services shortly before 3pm yesterday.
By Lisa Rowley
