Thousands stranded as 'Beast from the East' hits UK for THIRD day

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Thousands stranded as 'Beast from the East' hits UK for THIRD day

BRITS across the UK are facing travel chaos this morning as the 'Beast from the East' unleashes another day of snow and ice.

About 15cm of snow is likely to fall that could render roads impassable, trains to be cancelled, flights to be grounded and commuters to be trapped.

Major roads and rail lines are already being shut, with a jack-knifed lorry blocking the entire A1 southbound between Scotch and Cattering in northern England.

Trains in London, East Anglia, Hull, Stockport, Chester, Middlesborough, Newcastle and Glasgow are suffering severe delays and cancellations.

Greater Anglia has cancelled numerous services in and out of Norwich and Ipswich, while Southeastern Rail is also being badly affected.

The rail operator has cancelled high speed rush-hour services between Maidestone West to St Pancras, while all trains via Woolwich have been suspended.

London Northwestern rail has confirmed there are no trains between St Albans Abbey and Watford Junction, and South Western Railway say all lines between London Waterloo and Barnes are disrupted.

London's transport network is being seriously affected, with the white stuff falling heavily on the capital this morning.

The District Line has been hit by severe delays between Earls Court and Wimbledon due to signal failure caused by ice and snow.

And Transport for London (TfL) have confirmed the Central Line is suspended between Epping and Woodford in both directions, again due to adverse weather.

Norwich Airport has also been forced to close with flights across Britian being disrupted by the snow.

The snowstorms have caused so much disruption that Highways England is warning drivers to pack snow kits of blankets, food, water and a shovel.

The warning comes amid reports of strended cars and lorries blocking roads and leaving drivers trapped in their vehicles.

Already this morning several roads have been closed due to severe weather.

The A1 in Cambridgehshire between J17 and the A6121 has been shut, while the A66 between Cumbria and Durham is closed.

Impassable country roads are forcing drivers to divert onto the M1 which is causing major delays.

And the southbound stretch of the motorway between junctions 8 and 6A near Hemel Hempstead is blocked by a car and lorry collision.

A large number of bus services have also been cancelled due to the brutal weather, including across London.

British Airways has said the weather is likely to continue disrupting flights throughout the week.

Flights for later in the week are currently “under review”.

Norwich Airport confirmed last night it had closed.

Three extreme weather warnings were issued today, with the South East, North East and Scotland set to face the wrath of the Winter vortex.

The Met Office said it was possible the mercury could dip as low as -10C in some parts of the UK.

Heavy snow is expected until 10am, which will lash the East South East and East Midlands, according to the Met Office.

Daily Star Sunday