THESE are three of the irate private hire drivers planning to sue Bolton Council for loss of earnings in yesterday's snow chaos.

They are furious that they had to take their vehicles off the road because they considered it too dangerous to ferry passengers.

Six self-employed drivers of Cobra Private Hire, in Manchester Road, Bolton reckon they lost around £30 each in earnings.

One driver, Sean Hornby, said: "The snow was forecast and all the roads should have been gritted.

"I have been to collect the forms and we will be trying to get the money back through the Small Claims Court."

After yesterday's storm of protest from all over the borough, Bolton Council gritting teams worked throughout the night the keep main routes passable as more overnight snow fell across the region. But many side roads were treacherous today as the wind whipped up the snow and caused drifting.

A Royal Mail van driver needed hospital treatment for a cut head after his van skidded on ice and collided with a GM Buses double decker yesterday.

The accident happened at the junction of Chilham Street and Sapling Road at Morris Green.

No one on the bus was hurt but the van driver, James Sidney Dunn, aged 44, of Mellor Grove, Bolton was taken to hospital and allowed home after treatment.

Police say there were numerous minor road accidents in Bolton yesterday due to the icy roads but no one was seriously injured.

In Derbyshire and many hilly parts of the NW the weather was far worse and it forced well-known left-wing Labour MP Dennis Skinner to abandon a visit to Bolton last night.

Mr Skinner, dubbed the Beast of Bolsover by Tory rivals in the Commons, postponed a visit to Rumworth Labour Club. Instead, he hopes to come in March.

The Met Office said parts of Britain were colder than Kiev in the Ukraine and the Norwegian capital Oslo overnight as temperatures plunged as low as minus 17C with ice and snow causing chaos on the roads.

As the Arctic weather tightened its grip, motorists were warned not to travel unless they really had to and police reported precarious conditions on motorways.

A spokesman for the London Weather Centre said: "Central Britain, the Midlands, the south east, Wales and south eastern Scotland are experiencing very cold temperatures and snow, but as the wind dies down temperatures will fall even lower.

"The north east will get heavier bursts of snow over the weekend, and there is no sign of any really warm weather coming in the foreseeable future."

A 30mph speed limit was in operation on the M1 through Northamptonshire and Kent police said there had been up to 20 accidents an hour on the M20 and M25.

Driving snow and ice caused chaos across East Anglia, where police reported long tailbacks and numerous accidents on many roads.

More than 150 households in Norfolk also found themselves without electricity as the cold began to bite.

The A66 Pennine Route across Cumbria was closed overnight as drifting snow and ice made the road impassable in places.

The AA said the Siberian weather of the last two days has brought a massive surge in demand for breakdown services.

AA patrols said many drivers were not prepared for the snowy conditions and were driving too fast. Some drivers were not even bothering to clear the snow from their cars before setting off.

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