The latest cold snap largely received a good response from councils’ winter service teams, except in parts of the Midlands and Wales, where motorists found themselves stranded. An early warning from the Met Office and a greater motorist willingness to cancel or postpone journeys contributed to the effective winter service operation, which meant no major repeat of the ‘white Friday’ three years ago, when motorists were trapped on the M11. The Highways Agency was satisfied that traffic was generally kept moving, except for ‘normal’, incident-related closures, such as in the early Thursday morning southbound on the M1. A spokeswoman was pleased that motorists had heeded its warnings – the first issued on Tuesday – Hitwise, which measures Internet usage, said the HA increased its ‘market share’ of web visits by 192% on Wednesday. There were, however, significant problems on parts of the network – significant traffic congestion in and around Birmingham on Friday afternoon was reported, despite a warning from the HA that there would be daytime snowfall. Hundreds of cars were abandoned on the A4103 Worcester to Hereford Road, it was reported, following a jack-knifed lorry at Malvern Link and falling trees in the Malvern area – which then prevented spreaders leaving a depot. In Wales, around 500 drivers were blocked in their cars along the section of the A48 in Carmarthenshire, the M4 was closed between junctions 47 to 49, and there were reports of significant congestion in Swansea. A spokesperson for the Welsh Assembly Government said: ‘The trunk road network was kept clear of snow and most routes were passable with care. However, the local road network very quickly became congested, due to local blockages on hills, resulting in congestion on all roads. ‘A snow desk was established at the National Traffic Control Centre. Local radio staff in the Traffic Management Centre were fully engaged throughout the congested period.’ Matthew Lugg, chair of the UK Roads Board, said that, in the run-up to the Comprehensive Spending Review, he would ‘stress that, despite a general warming of temperatures, we are still going to get fluctuations and need funding to reflect that’.