Mayhem as snow and ice bring town centre to a standstill

Dec 9 2010 by Alastair McNeill, Hamilton Advertiser

TRAFFIC ground to a standstill in Hamilton town centre on Monday as winter’s icy grip returned with a vengeance.

Journeys that normally took a matter of minutes lasted for hours.

Cars, lorries and buses were abandoned by drivers on roads around the town including Motherwell Road, Palace Grounds, Muir Street and Bothwell Road.

Many motorists on a snowbound M74, waiting in vain for the traffic to move, abandoned their vehicles and made for Hamilton and Mothewell in a bid to get home.

Stranded employees in numerous businesses – including the Advertiser – had to remain in their offices overnight.

South Lanarkshire Council put up about 200 people on Monday night in their banqueting hall, including a party of pensioners from Blackpool who had been travelling to Arrochar, two Yorkshire businessmen and an OAP in a hypothermic state who had walked from Coatbridge and had been found in Almada Street.

Secondary school teachers and pupils also had to stay put. Twenty five Holy Cross High teachers and 17 pupils stayed in the building overnight. Thirty Hamilton Grammar teachers and nine pupils were stranded there and 10 Calderside Academy teachers spent the night at their school, as did three pupils and four staff at Hamilton School for the Deaf.

Motherwell College also put up students and teachers overnight.

A total of 67 pupils stayed the night at private school Hamilton College along with 15 parents and 41 staff. Depute head teacher Archie Love said: “The pupils were from nursery school age to S6. The youngest child was three.

“We tried to make them as comfortable as possible. We bedded them down in classrooms and had the heating turned up and managed to get some bedding. Crash mats from the PE department were used as mattresses.

“A hot meal was provided on Monday evening and breakfast on Wednesday morning.”

Asda Hamilton also put people up for the night. “Thirty people spent the night in our restaurant to keep warm,” said a spokeswoman. “They were fed and watered and we gave them blankets.

“We also had a coach party of Holy Cross High School pupils for a time who made their way back to school. I believe they’d been trying to make their way to Strathaven.”

All South Lanarkshire Schools have been closed since Monday and all planned operations for Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday at Hairmyres, Wishaw and Monklands were cancelled.

Schools will remain shut today (Thursday).

Carstairs woman Lesley Martin had been travelling back to the village in a bus that left Glasgow at 1.30pm on Monday.

By 9pm it had reached half-way between the Raith Interchange and the Hamilton/Motherwell turn-off.

She said: “A few of the passengers got off at that point and made their way in the Hamilton and Motherwell direction.

“We left three or four elderly ladies on the bus.

“There were hundreds of other people walking on the hard shoulder who had also left their vehicles.

“We took an hour to walk into Motherwell town centre as we were aiming to get a train to Lanark, and were helped out by members of the Hope United church who were giving out tea and coffee to people. I’d like to thank them for their kindness, and let them know how much we appreciated their help.”

It was the worst snowfall in Lanarkshire for years and in the days that followed temperatures plummeted. On Wednesday the mercury dipped to -19 and -20 centigrade in many parts of the county. The temperature is set to rise today (Thursday) but dip below freezing again next week.

EXPRESSWAY WALKWAY: this was the scene on the traffic-choked East Kilbride expressway on Monday.

BIG HEAVE: police come to the aid of a driver in Muir Street, Hamilton.

SNOW TREK: for some, walking was the only option this week.

SNARL-UP:at the Bottom Cross in Hamilton.

SLIPPERY SCENE: Cadzow Street in Hamilton was impassable for a time.