Businesses and schools let staff leave before 3pm to avoid commuting in darkness as travel chaos continues
12 December 2022, 19:27 | Updated: 12 December 2022, 19:33
Schools and businesses allowed staff to leave early today, after traffic was gridlocked by the snowfall last night.
The heavy snowfall blanketing the roads and railways in London and across much of the UK prompted some to opt for a short day and avoid unnecessary risks on their journey home.
Longdean School in Hemel Hempstead announced on Twitter: "We want to ensure all students and staff make it home safely.
"Take care out there."
Woolwich Polytechnic in south-east London tweeted: 'Monday 12th December School will be open for years 7&8 only today, with school closing at 2.20pm.
"Students in years 9 and 10 should work from home. Work will be set on Teams."
David's Music, an independent music shop in Hertfordshire said: "Due to the wondrous snow, we’ll be closing at 3:30pm today, before it gets too dark and icy. Keep safe and warm everyone."
Overnight, hundreds of motorists were trapped on the M25 in Hertfordshire as ice and snow wrought chaos on the roads.
Drivers were only able to move several hundred yards in hours amid the heavy snow, while grounded passengers tried to sleep on airport floors and wait it out.
Up to 10cm more was forecast for today as the snow continued to fall, and Met Office snow and ice weather warnings are in force across northern Scotland, southeast and eastern England.
The think blanket of snow only compounds the misery for commuters over the festive period, with rail strikes on the way, and a wave of separate disputes bringing services to a standstill.
Today the RMT confirmed that Christmas rail strikes will go ahead after rejecting the latest pay offer from Network Rail.
Members of the Rail, Maritime and Transport union (RMT) will press ahead with two 48-hour strikes at Network Rail - and 14 train companies - from Tuesday and Friday.
Trains will run from 7.30am to 6.30pm on this week's strike days, although many parts of the country will have no services, including most of Scotland and Wales.
More strikes are also planned between December 24 and 27.
The RMT said 63.6% voted to reject Network Rail's offer on an 83% turnout.
Experts have warned that the impact of walkouts on hospitality could be severe, while bosses of clubs, pubs, hotels and restaurants have begged unions to cancel the latest round of strikes, claiming their businesses would miss out on over a billion pounds if they went ahead.
Kate Nicholls, chief executive of UKHospitality, which represents the sector, said: "The sheer number of strike days that have affected Britain’s hospitality sector this year has been unprecedented and the strikes in December will no doubt be the toughest yet, with hospitality businesses set to lose £1.5 billion in sales."
Last-minute talks were held between the RMT and railway operators in early December in a bid to avert the strikes but they failed to reach an agreement.
