Snow dump leave hundreds stranded overnight on M6 motorway - The Times (subscription)

Drivers who were stranded on the M6 by heavy snow were today returning to collect their vehicles as forecasters warned that rising temperatures would raise the risk of flooding.

A band of heavy rain is predicted tonight which, combined with meltwater from recent snow, has led the Environment Agency to issue 80 flood alerts around the country.

A foot of snow in Lancashire last night blocked the M6 in both directions between junctions 25 and 27. Drivers became stuck after struggling to negotiate inclines between Wigan and Standish in treacherous conditions, and jack-knifed lorries blocked lanes.

Mountain rescue team members walked along a four-mile stretch of the motorway in Lancashire in the early hours of the morning to check on the condition of stranded drivers.

A diabetic man was taken to Royal Blackburn Hospital after falling ill, while an ambulance taking a female patient to Royal Preston Hospital had to be dug out of the snow by Bowland Pennine Mountain Rescue team.

Phil O'Brien, the team leader, said: "It was potentially a very serious situation. The Highways Agency managed to get people moving at about 4.30 to 5am. There were hundreds of cars stuck but most people seemed in good spirits."

Some drivers passed the time building snowmen and having snowball fights, while others abandoned their vehicles.

Stuck on the southbound carriageway was David Morris, Conservative MP for Morecambe and Lunesdale, who told Sky News: "We've ground to a halt on both sides. Nothing is really moving.

"But the emergency services have been fantastic and are doing the best for us, and everyone is in good spirits. I've just seen a snowball fight and the man next door to me has built a snowman on top of his car roof - it's very surreal."

Most of the abandoned vehicles on the M6 had been collected, Lancashire police said this afternoon. However, some routes were still blocked and up to 30 cars remained on the A56 between Rising Bridge and Edenfield in Lancashire.

In Barnsley, South Yorkshire, a house was evacuated at 4am when the gable end collapsed, apparently under the weight of fresh snow.

Neighbours, who were woken by a loud crash, said that snow had accumulated on a carport at the side of the house. When that gave way, the structure took the gable end with it. The residents, who included four children, escaped unharmed.

Some two-thirds of the country had a covering of snow last night, said Chris Burton, a forecaster for MeteoGroup, the weather division of the Press Association. That would begin to melt overnight, raising the risk of flooding in some areas.

Temperatures were expected to remain around 3C or 4C today before rising to up to 10C in the south tomorrow, followed by wet and windy weather next week.

Mr Burton said: "Heavy rain will fall across most parts of Britain tonight and into tomorrow morning. The worst affected areas will be the west of England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, which will see up to an inch of rain overnight.

"Combined with rapid melting snow it brings a risk of localised flooding."

The Environment Agency (EA) warned of a risk of surface water and river flooding this weekend across England and Wales, particularly in the Midlands and north east England.

Five flood warnings were in place for south-west England and Wales, along with about 80 flood alerts across the country.