Roads grind to halt in first day back misery for motorists

Snow and ice cause chaos for morning commuters in Mid-Staffordshire.

Overnight snowfall caused havoc for morning commuters across Mid-Staffordshire.

Hundreds of disgruntled drivers took to social media on Monday morning to express their 'frustrations' after nightmare journey's into work.

A number of main commuter routes were gridlocked with delays of over an hour along the A518, A51 and the A34.

Despite some of the main routes across Mid-Staffordshire being gritted, drivers complained about the lack of treatment on some of the side roads in the area with treacherous driving conditions and long delays.

The A51 at Sandon was shut at 8:30am this morning and remained closed until around 10am with severe tailbacks along the A518 Weston Road into Stafford. Weston Bank was also closed for a short period of time as drivers struggled to negotiate their way up the steep embankment.

Baswich Lane in Stafford was also severely affected with delays totally over 45 minutes at 8:15am on Monday morning. The lanes became impassable with one vehicle being abandoned which added to the misery.

The A518 between Derrington and Castlebank was also hit with queuing traffic into Stafford.

Vibe 1 spoke with commuter, Darren Leighten.

Darren Leighton commented:

"I gave myself plenty of time to get into work but once I got onto the A518 the traffic was tailing back.

I left my house in Haughton at 7:15 and didn't get to work until nearly 20 past 9."

He continued:

"It appears that the side roads were not treated which added to the difficulties."

Dozens of schools across the area were also closed with head teachers taking the decision to close due to the adverse weather.

Staffordshire County Council insist that their gritters were out treating as many roads as possible on Sunday evening with some crews ready at 5am for further treatment as required.

A yellow weather remains in place across Mid-Staffordshire with temperatures set to plummet to -7 Celsius overnight.