SNOW brought disruption across the county on Thursday and closed schools in East Cambs. Spring Meadow Infant and Nursery Schools and Highfields School shut their doors as early morning snow hit the district. Road conditions caused several accidents.

SNOW brought disruption across the county on Thursday and closed schools in East Cambs.

Spring Meadow Infant and Nursery Schools and Highfields School shut their doors as early morning snow hit the district.

Road conditions caused several accidents. Between 4am and 2pm there were 35 damage-only accidents, three minor injury crashes and two resulting in serious injury.

Police also recorded 40 incidents of highway disruption including broken-down vehicles and people throwing snowballs at cars.

But as workers struggled to get to work, children made the most of the snowfall when four schools in East Cambridgeshire closed for the day.

Bottisham Village College, Ely St Mary's Junior School, Highfield School and Spring Meadow Infant School all re-opened on Friday (February 9) after the snowfall had drifted west.

A Cambridgeshire County Council spokesman said: "The decision to close the schools is left purely to each headteacher to make, though they have to inform us of this."

Police constable Mick McCready, casualty reduction officer, said: "If motorists take precautions and drive sensibly for the conditions, there is no reason why a few centimetres of snow should prove a problem.

"Drivers need to slow down and leave a greater distance between themselves and the car in front.

"The biggest problem can often be a weak battery in cold conditions, so ensure your battery is okay, your car is working and allow extra times for your journey. And if the snow does arrive, consider whether the journey is absolutely necessary."

Thirty-six gritters were on 24-hour stand-by during the extreme weather and each run covers 1,100 miles of road in Cambridgeshire, uses 250 tonnes of pre-wet rock salt, and costs £20,000.

David Groom, divisional maintenance engineer at Cambridgeshire County Council, said: "We are constantly trying to find ways to make the roads safer and we believe drivers can play their part in reducing accidents. We will be posting up-to-date information about the roads on the internet site and I would urge motorists to take the opportunity to look at it before attempting to drive in icy conditions.

"Major routes are gritted but drivers should never assume that all roads have been treated. You need time to react safely to icy road conditions. Cut your speed, don't brake suddenly, drop down a gear to let your engine help with the braking and, above all, anticipate possible problems ahead.