Snow brings West Lothian to a slithery standstill.

Dec 9 2010 by Alistair Watson, West Lothian Courier

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SNOW and blizzards once again brought West Lothian to a slithery standstill this week.

Motorists faced a nightmare commute as roads quickly ground to a halt when a further 15cm fell across the county on Monday during a seven-hour blizzard which cut off West Lothian from the rest of the country.

Some fed-up drivers and passengers were forced to spend the night in their cars as the main routes across West Lothian remained gridlocked.

Motorists became trapped when the extreme weather conditions caused the busy M8 motorway to close at Harthill and sparked an 11-mile tailback.

Several lorry drivers were forced to sleep in their cabins overnight while other drivers abandoned their vehicles as they sought warmth and shelter.

A 20-mile stretch of the westbound section of the motorway from Edinburgh to Harthill remained closed until Wednesday afternoon while specialised equipment was brought in to break up the thick ice that had built up. The army and the fire service used thermal imagery to check vehicles for people trapped inside.

Trapped workers were waking up in the unusual surroundings of business premises across West Lothian after being forced to stay there overnight, while others had to walk miles home from work as all buses and trains were cancelled.

Schools across West Lothian were forced to close on Monday leaving some staff stranded over night with 20 teachers forced to sleep at St Kentigern’s Academy and a further four stayed at Stoneyburn Primary School.

School remained closed on Tuesday although many reopened to pupils on Wednesday.

For more on the snow chaos see pages 2,3 and 4.