Stranded drivers have finally started to move again after being stuck on a motorway for up to 17 hours.
Hundreds of drivers were left stranded on the M80 near Glasgow overnight – with police estimating there were 1,000 vehicles at a standstill at one point, with tailbacks of approximately eight miles both north and southbound.
But they finally started moving again around lunchtime today, with an ITN cameraman stuck in the jam filming the moment he started up his car at 1pm, weaving through lorries and cars abandoned by their drivers.
The cameraman, who tweets as ‘Addy B TV’ and works for 5 News, captioned the video by saying: ‘And safely out of the big jam on the M80. Seventeen very special hours.’
Earlier, the drivers left stranded on the M80 were offered free cans of Irn Bru by a Good Samaritan. Traffic became stationary yesterday afternoon when heavy snow hit, and forecasters issuing the highest level weather warning.
Motorists tweeted photographs this morning (pictured) of being stuck in their cars on the M80 near Glasgow overnight
Motorists reported being stuck for up to 13 hours, with some spending the night in their cars.
Emergency responders and volunteer agencies, including mountain rescue teams, checked on stranded drivers, with some Good Samaritans also handing out food.
While many were forced to stay in their cars overnight, Jane Kennedy wrote on Twitter: ‘Anyone stuck on the M80, I have a boot full of Irn Bru! Give me a shout if you need a drink.’
Motorists reported being stuck for up to 13 hours, with some spending the night in their cars, and others abandoning their vehicles on the motorway.
Lesley Forster has been stuck on the motorway since yesterday afternoon. She wrote on Twitter: ‘Have been sitting in my car with no emergency help since 3pm’
Emergency responders and volunteer agencies, including mountain rescue teams, checked on stranded drivers. Police were advising people not to travel today unless they are an emergency worker.
Lesley Forster (pictured) has been stuck on the motorway since yesterday afternoon. She posted this picture (left) of the stranded vehicles on the usually busy road
She later wrote on Twitter: ‘Have been sitting in my car with no emergency help since 3pm,’ adding that she felt ‘like a sitting duck’
John Swinney said there had been an ‘extensive operation’ taking place to try to get traffic on the M80 motorway – which links Glasgow and Stirling – moving again.
HGV driver Alex Downie from Dundee said he had been stuck on the M80 near Castlecary since 5pm on Wednesday.
He told BBC Radio Scotland: ‘The northbound M80 is moving but southbound we have been stationary, I haven’t moved since 5.10 last night.
‘A few volunteer people came up and down the roads, it must have been about one o’clock this morning, a gentleman came over from his house with provisions and passed them out to people in cars.
Extreme weather and jack-knifed lorries combined to cause ‘significant challenges’ on one of Scotland’s main roads where motorists were stranded overnight, the Deputy First Minister said
Craig Robertson, who was also stranded on the M80, posted this picture of the snow
Supplies being delivered to people stranded on the M80 in Scotland this morning
‘The police came round on the northbound carriageway at four this morning and informed us that the road was open and we would be moving again. That was the last police car we seen, that was the last information we had as well.’
It happened after the first ever red weather warning was issued for much of central Scotland, with people advised not to travel.
Mr Swinney told BBC Radio Scotland the country was experiencing ‘the most significant snow incident we’ve had since 2010’. And he said the M80 had been a ‘particular pinch point’ after traffic ground to a halt.
Speaking on the Good Morning Scotland programme, the Deputy First Minister said: ‘The M80 has presented much more significant challenges to us overnight and there has been a very strong operation to try to gain traction over the course of the night.
‘Although many people were stuck for a long time we did get the road moving quite significantly, but there are people who have been stuck there for a long time.
‘That’s a combination of the intensity of the snow, but also the fact that we have had quite a number of jack-knifed lorries on that particular stretch of the road and the minute that happens the road gets blocked and nobody can get through.’
A motorist tweeted this picture from the M80 near Glasgow this morning, saying she was ‘starving and running out of fuel’
Superintendent Helen Harrison said: ‘We are now 24 hours into the red and amber-related advice not to travel on the roads and rush-hour last night was noticeably less busy thanks to people heeding our message. It remains the same this rush-hour coming – do not travel.
‘Many of those people who did go out yesterday faced treacherous conditions, blocked roads, being stuck in their vehicles or even being involved in collisions. We do not want anyone to put themselves or others at risk in these conditions.
‘We are continuing to run a multi-agency command centre at Bilston to co-ordinate the emergency response to the severe weather with our partners and keep Scotland moving as best we can.’
Graeme Murray left Aberdeen at 2.45pm on Wednesday with his daughter Ella, 16, who was hoping to catch a flight to Dublin from Glasgow for an under-17s netball competition.
Speaking at around 10pm, the 49-year-old legal commercial director said: ‘Everything was going well until just after Gleneagles, then we hit the traffic jam at 5.05pm and have been here ever since.
‘We have no idea what’s happening, we’re just getting messages from home.
‘I think we’re going to get ready to spend the night here.’
Other major routes also faced disruption, with reports of minor accidents on some roads.
Hundreds of schools were closed for a second day today as the severe weather continues with Glasgow, East Dunbartonshire, Edinburgh, West Dunbartonshire, Inverclyde, Midlothian, Falkirk, North Lanarkshire, South Lanarkshire and Clackmannanshire announcing that all their schools would be shut.
Some drivers have been stuck on the motorway – between Glasgow and Stirling – since 2pm yesterday afternoon, with police pledging to provide emergency water supplies as gritters desperately attempt to reopen lanes
Red warning: The scene on the M80 Haggs in Glasgow today as the highest level of weather warning has been issued for Scotland and Ireland
Flights were also disrupted, with Glasgow Airport announcing that it will be closed until tomorrow,
The extreme weather has also seen NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde cancel all non-essential operations and outpatient appointments today.
Virgin Trains has shut all its routes to and from Scotland throughout the day, while ScotRail halted all operations in the affected red area until late morning.
Bus operators in central regions also reported there would likely be disruptions continuing today.
A jackknifed lorry on the M80 Haggs in Glasgow, as the highest level of weather warning has been issued for Scotland today
Transport Minister Humza Yousaf said: ‘The travel advice in the affected areas today could not be clearer – do not travel unless it is absolutely necessary to do so.
‘Even after the red warning is lifted, large parts of Scotland will still be subject to high-level amber weather warnings for snow. This should not be under-estimated.
‘An amber warning means there is a real possibility that vehicles and drivers will become stranded – something that we have already seen happen during this period of snow.