Beast from the east sets firmly across mid Norfolk

Communities across mid Norfolk were greeted by traffic chaos and county-wide school closures following heavy snow brought in by the Beast from the East.

Freezing temperatures and reports of up to 15cm of snow in the Dereham area have caused dozens of schools to close in our region.

Reminiscent of scenes usually seen on Christmas Day, only handfuls of people were walking through the snow in the market town this morning and cars were also moving slowly to take care in the ice and slush.

One team that managed to make it to work was The Big C volunteers to the charity shop in Dereham, dubbed 'Wayne's Angels', who shared a celebratory photo on social media wearing coats with warm mugs of tea.

For others though, it was not the same success story.

There was widespread cancellations of events throughout mid Norfolk.

Breckland Council announced that its Wellbeing and Recruitment Roadshow, which had been due to take place in Dereham today, was postponed. They hoped to rearrange it for mid-April and would confirm closer to the time.

The council's bin collections were also suspended due to safety concerns.

And Mini-Scrapbox cancelled today's opening in Reepham.

Commuters travelling along the A47 from the market town were some of the worst affected.

One driver, Sarah Bullen, took to Twitter to describe the chaos during her commute to the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital.

She said: 'Left Dereham at 5.50 for my shift at the hospital. Been at a standstill for over an hour.'

While over in Fakenham, commuter Richard Tree reported driving to the market town in 'blizzard' conditions, and also mention spotting a jogger out on a run wearing shorts.

Police urged people not to drive unless it was 'completely necessary' after lorries and cars become stuck across Norfolk's main roads.

Superintendent Chris Harvey, from Norfolk police, urged people to look after each other.

He said: 'If you have elderly or vulnerable relatives or neighbours, make sure they are okay and have everything they need.'

Finally, for many, there was also time for fun.

Alicia Lestat-Farrell, took her labradoodles Ruby and Willow for a play in the snow at Longham, near Dereham.

She said: ' They've both been poorly since Christmas, Willow recovering from surgery and Ruby having chemo for Lymphoma. They had a great time in the snow.'

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