A bus fell onto its side in Aberdeenshire as Scotland was gripped by a deep freeze. The Stagecoach bus toppled an icy conditions whilst one passenger was onboard. Emergency crews raced to New Leeds where the X67 was spotted lying on its side.
Several warnings for snow and ice are in force across the UK, with the Met Office advising vehicles could be stranded, power cuts may occur and rural areas could be cut off. Monday night saw sub-zero temperatures for much of the UK, reaching as low as -11.2C at Braemar in Aberdeenshire.
Met Office spokesman Stephen Dixon said temperatures could drop to -12C in rural parts of Scotland on Wednesday night. Mr Dixon told the PA news agency: “We’ve had a fairly mild November so far. So it’ll feel like that first taste of winter for many with that snow and ice risk layered on top.
“The highest accumulations are likely over the mountains in Scotland, where over higher ground you could see around 20cm of snow through this week accumulating on the ground. They are not necessarily the most disruptive snowfalls, but it only takes a couple of centimetres on lower ground to cause some level of travel disruption.”
A spokesperson for Stagecoach North Scotland said: “We can confirm that one of our vehicles operating on service X67 has been involved in an incident at New Leeds this morning due to ice on the road. One passenger was on board, and there were no injuries.”
The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) has issued the first amber cold weather health alert of the season, warning conditions could be dangerous for vulnerable people, including the elderly.
The amber warning covers the east and north of England, the Midlands, and Yorkshire and the Humber, with yellow alerts coming into place for the South East, South West and London until 6pm on Saturday. More than 200 school closures had been reported in England and Wales with snowfall widely reported.
Met Office Chief Meteorologist Neil Armstrong said: “With cold Arctic air firmly in place over the UK, continued winter hazards are likely through much of this week, with further updates to warnings likely in the coming days.”
The Met Office has issued a yellow warning for snow and ice along the east coast of Scotland and England from Berwickshire to Suffolk from 6pm on Tuesday to midday on Wednesday. There are also snow and ice warnings in place covering the north of Scotland until 10am on Wednesday and parts of western Scotland from 7pm on Tuesday to 10am on Wednesday.
The Met Office said cold northerly winds will continue through the week across much of the UK, with further warnings likely. It added that temperatures were likely to increase from the south-west this weekend, though this will be accompanied by some strong winds and heavy rain.
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