Scotland's weather: Snow warning raised to amber

Conditions remain “extremely poor” on Wednesday morning with Police Scotland advising motorists to avoid the area.

Jack-knifed lorries have caused a delay in response from Traffic Scotland who are having to work around the vehicles to grit the roads.

Motorists travel through a heavy snow shower on the M8. Snow and sleet conditions are affecting large parts of Scotland with long delays affecting motorists on many roads including the M8 and M74. Picture: Getty

The worst of it is on the M74 between junctions 9 to 12 southbound and junctions 16 to 13 northbound.

A Police Scotland spokesperson said: “Partner agencies have been working together to ensure that welfare support is provided to road users who have been stuck on the M74.

“If your journey is not essential, please avoid this particular area of the M74.

“If anyone is on the hard shoulder, we would ask drivers, if safe to do so, to try and move off the hard shoulder to enable emergency vehicles access to deal with the situation and assist drivers on the road.”

Sam Sykes, a surveyor from Biggar, South Lanarkshire, said he was stuck on the M74 for around 12 hours - from 6pm on Tuesday until around 5.30am on Wednesday.

The 25-year-old was travelling from Dalry in Ayrshire to Biggar, after work.

He said: “It was really horrible as you would imagine. I was constantly checking the Traffic Scotland site for any updates but information was very limited.

“It wasn’t really crawling, it was pretty much standstill for the entire time except a small period around 8pm when we moved a few miles.

“I got a little bit of sleep but the combination of cold and not knowing if you were going to be moving again restricted that.

“The length of time, the cold and the uncertainty of when it would start again was the worst part.

“Luckily I am not in work this morning.”

Drivers stranded on M74 overnight as heavy snow hits Scotland