Wymondham road crashes today

Two separate accidents near Wymondham brought traffic to a standstill today – as the cold weather grips the county for the first time this winter.

Norfolk police said up to eight vehicles were involved in crashes on the A11 Thetford-bound carriageway at Wymondham and on the B1135 slip road, with police warning motorists to take extra care because of debris on the road. Both accidents happened within about 10 minutes of each other before 7am.

The A11 at Wymondham was closed earlier with traffic queuing southbound at the B1135 junction, but the road reopened before 9am.

Two fire appliances from Wymondham attended the A11 crash and two more were sent to the accident on the slip road, near Silfield.

Meanwhile, snow fell in Norfolk for the first time this winter yesterday and driving conditions were hazardous for rush-hour traffic leaving Norwich at about 5.30pm.

In the west of the county, fire crews from Swaffham, Massingham, Watton and King's Lynn attended a road accident on the A47 at Swaffham yesterday at about 5.30pm, and casualties were freed by fire-fighters using hydraulic rescue equipment.

Nationwide, snow showers fell overnight across northeast Scotland, and down the east coast of England, and there were also some snow showers affecting Northern Ireland and parts of north Wales.

The higher parts of the North Yorkshire moors had around 10cm or more of snow.

The weather forecast today is for sleet and snow showers along eastern coastal areas, occasionally moving further inland, and perhaps reaching the Midlands in the afternoon.

Tonight sleet and snow will become confined to coastal areas in the east and west, while rain will tend to turn to snow in Northern Ireland.

For tomorrow, the forecast is for sleet and snow in the northeast, Northern Ireland, and parts of both Wales and Southwest England, but central and eastern areas will be dry and mainly bright but still cold.