HUNDREDS of motorists were rescued from Bodmin Moor, Cornwall, last night after being trapped in their vehicles in heavy snow.

About 500 vehicles, including coaches, were stuck on the A30 between Kennards House and Bodmin near to Jamaica Inn after a lorry overturned at about midday.

Police used 4x4 vehicles to rescue people and the RAF and the Navy sent helicopters carrying blankets.

Among those stranded were an 80-year-old woman and a mother with a one-month-old child. One woman was airlifted to hospital from Bodmin Parkway railway station because ambulances could not reach her.

About 500 rescued people were expected to spend the night sleeping on mats at a leisure centre in Bodmin.

Inspector Steve Whitney, of Devon and Cornwall Police, said: “It will take the weekend before everything gets back to normal. People have abandoned cars in the middle of roads.” The eastbound carriageway has reopened, but the westbound lanes remain closed.

Elsewhere in the county, more than 1,000 children were snowed into their schools until late into the evening and hundreds of schools had to close.

About 300 pupils from Treviglas Community College, Newquay, were rescued by friends and family using tractors and 4x4 vehicles. Fifteen students, aged 15 to 18, spent the night in a nearby hotel with three stranded teachers.

A Cornwall County Council spokeswoman said that no pupils would be staying overnight in their schools. A PA WeatherCentre spokesman said that the Cornish blizzards were “pretty unusual” for November. There were reports of snow up to 8in (20cm) elsewhere in the South West, making driving conditions extremely hazardous.

One elderly motorist is believed to have died from a heart attack brought on by hypothermia. Hundreds of people were caught up in accidents and even forced to abandon their cars as heavy snowstorms caused chaos.

Overnight blizzards and heavy snow affected many parts of Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and southwest England, confounding a forecast that snow would settle only on higher ground.

School buses were cancelled in North Devon, while about 460 schools were closed in Wales alone as staff and pupils were prevented from attending.

Lorry drivers were advised to avoid the Rhondda area as some roads were impassable because of thick snow. In the Highlands and Aberdeenshire, more than 4,000 homes were without electricity, and 80 schools were closed. Forecasters said that the snow should turn to rain on lower ground during the day, but warned that the severe weather would return by late Sunday.

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