Cold snap leaves record numbers stranded on roads

London: About four million motorists are expected to make a dash for their Christmas destinations after another day of icy weather stranded thousands of drivers, forced a Ryanair jet off a runway and cancelled train services.

The Automobile Association said many avoided taking to the roads on Wednesday in the hope of improved weather yesterday, but the Met Office warned of slippery surfaces in Wales, Yorkshire, the Midlands and east England as the cold snap maintained its icy grip.

Liverpool John Lennon airport closed Wednesday night because of a heavy deluge of snow, a spokesman said, while a Manchester airport spokesman denied the reports it was closed. Other main airports are cautiously optimistic that they can operate good services after suffering hundreds of cancellations since the weekend, with most runways operating near-normal schedules yesterday.

Drivers have overtaken airline and Eurostar passengers as the group of travellers worst affected by the cold snap.

Edmund King, president of the AA, said the organisation had dealt with an estimated 116,000 breakdowns since Friday, a number he described as a record, with drivers in Scotland, Merseyside, Lancashire, the south coast and south-east England the worst hit. He said: "We've never had that many days in a row when things have been so bad."

The RAC said it had attended up to 50,000 breakdowns this week. An estimated 8 million drivers took to bad roads Thursday.