Motorists hit by more winter travel chaos

MOTORISTS suffered another day of chaos today as the Forth Road Bridge and the M8 to Glasgow were both closed by thick snow.

And weather forecasters said temperatures could drop as low as -12C tomorrow night.

At Edinburgh Airport, hundreds of passengers spent two hours on planes waiting to take off because the snow was too bad for the flights to leave. Others flying in were also stuck on their planes.

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An airport spokesman said planes had been taking off during the evening despite the snow, but towards midnight the showers were so heavy it was decided the last planes could not fly.

The airport will not reopen today.

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At the height of this morning's rush hour, the Forth Road Bridge was closed in both directions as workmen battled to clear snow from the carriageways.

The M8 between Edinburgh and Glasgow was closed westbound at junction three, where a car and a lorry collided.

And rail travel was also disrupted. Trains between Edinburgh and Glasgow were reduced to a half-hourly service, the service from Edinburgh to Dunblane was running hourly and ScotRail trains between Edinburgh and Dunbar were cancelled.

Many schools remained closed.

The Met Office said snow would continue to fall over Edinburgh and the Lothians tonight and tomorrow.

Dark days for switch-on ceremonies

A SERIES of nine Christmas lights switch-on ceremonies due to take place over the next week have been cancelled because of fears about safety.

Attempts are still continuing to get the ceremonies to go ahead but it is thought many will be shelved completely.

Dave Anderson, the city council's director of city development, said there had been difficulties erecting signs and barriers for the events, while road closures were expected to prove difficult to manage because of the pressure already on roads teams, who have to clear roads and footpaths.

He also said that the erection of stages and public address systems had been difficult as a result of the bad weather.

The ceremony set for Lauriston Place/Tollcross was cancelled last night. Others to fall victim include Kirkgate Leith (Dec 2), Restalrig Road South (Dec 2), Queensferry (Dec 2), Morningside (Dec 2), Grassmarket (Dec 3), Davidson's Mains (Dec 3), Marchmont Crescent, (Dec 5) and Gorgie Farm (Dec 5).

A city council spokeswoman said: "While we appreciate the disappointment this decision will cause, our top priority must be to ensure the safety of the public, contractors and employees."

Councillor Andrew Burns, leader of the Labour group on the city council, said: "Some of these dates are almost a week away and it is a little early to cancel them altogether. The weather may have improved significantly in a week's time."