Police launched a dramatic rescue operation in County Durham tonight after more than 100 cars containing pensioners and schoolchildren became trapped in snow.

In a day of weather chaos which saw three different sea rescue operations, it emerged that vehicles had been stranded near Barnard Castle on the A66 because of the worsening weather.

Among those reported to have been rescued during the ongoing operation were a group of 40 pensioners and 15 schoolchildren.

As the drama unfolded, it emerged that the day's third sea rescue was underway tonight after the captain of a cargo ship was seriously injured in heavy seas off the Isles of Scilly.

That followed further rescue operations as massive waves and violent winds battered the UK and left two boats stranded, one off Blackpool and another near the Western Isles of Scotland.

On the A66 tonight, police moved in to evacuate the frozen commuters' cars, which were scattered around five miles from the village of Bowes. The Ancient Union pub in the village was doing a roaring trade, as officers ferried the rescued passengers into the bar to recuperate.

Scores of commuters were also taken to the Bowes village hall after Durham and Cumbria police forces closed the A66 and A68 this evening.

Highways Agency snowplows were making their way up and down the A66 tonight attempting to clear the road after heavy snowfall this afternoon.

As news of the rescue broke, an RAF helicopter was en route to rescue the captain of a ship off the Isles of Scilly who was reported to have suffered spinal injuries and the two passengers on board, who were also hurt - one with a broken hand and another with head injuries.

Earlier today, passengers and crew were winched to safety from a ferry that was forced onto the beach near Blackpool. Twenty-three passengers and crew, including a nine-month-old baby, were rescued by helicopters from the Royal Navy, the RAF and the Irish Coast Guard.

The Riverdance ferry had hit by a storm off the coast of Fleetwood, Lancashire as it crossed the Irish Sea. It had to contend with a Force-10 storm, with winds gusting at more than 60mph and waves up to 30ft high.

Rich Taylor, one of the RAF winch men involved in the operation, said that the conditions made dropping a line to the vessel very difficult. He told the BBC: "It took some time to get the first rope down to the boat.

“Unfortunately, we then lost contact with that rope just through the boat moving away from us in the big swirl. So we had another bash at it and managed to get another rope down.”

Gale-force winds hampered another rescue operation off the British coast this morning. Fourteen members of a Spanish crew were eventually pulled to safety from the Spinning Dale trawler. The British-registered boat was taking on water 40 miles west of Benbecula in the Western Isles of Scotland.

The crew sent a distress call at 5.20am as Force 9 gales — with winds of 47-54mph (76-87 km/h) — lashed the island of St Kilda.

The seamen were unable to launch their life craft because of the treacherous conditions. They were forced to don their lifejackets and shelter in the bridge as waves swamped the deck.

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