SCHOOLS in East Cambridgeshire have been worst hit by the weekend’s snow flurry, with many forced to close their doors to students on Monday.

Ely College, Witchford Village College, Ely St Mary’s, Spring Meadow, Highfields, and Lantern Primary were all closed after 15cm of snow fell across the district on Saturday night.

Temperatures plummeted to as low as -4 degrees and the county’s emergency services were kept busy, the East of England Ambulance Service responding to 1,229 calls across the region between 11pm-9am overnight from Saturday.

Gritters running from Cambridgeshire County Council’s depot in Witchford have been out in force and the district’s roads have remained open, though the conditions have remained treacherous.

Cambridgeshire police said there has been 51 collisions reported on the county’s roads between 9pm on Saturday and 4pm on Sunday, a number “significantly higher” than they would normally receive a spokesman said.

Meanwhile, East Cambridgeshire District Council announced that its waste and recycling service had been suspended on Monday because of the bad weather.

The suspension mostly affected residents in Aldreth, Eairth Bridge, Haddenham, Streatham, Sutton, Wilburton, Chittering, Grunty Fen, Isleham, Wentworth and Witchford.

Elsewhere, all other council services remained open and members of the parks and open spaces team were out currently clearing and gritting main paths in Ely from first light.

Got a picture of the snow? Got a snow story? Let us know on 01353 645693 or via email: daniel.mansfield@archant.co.uk or editor@ely-standard.co.uk.