HUNDREDS of schools have already closed today after heavy snow fell across Essex overnight.

About 8cms of snow fell in Colchester and north Essex as temperatures dropped to -5C.

More snow fell in rural areas making roads difficult to pass.

Gazette:

Police have closed the Avenue of Remembrance between the Spring Lane roundabout, at the A12, and Westway, in Colchester, after a vehicle became stuck.

READ MORE: Colchester Zoo to close early due to adverse weather

Traffic was at a standstill earlier on the A12 at the Ardleigh interchange and accidents at the Dartford Crossing caused huge delays.

GALLERY: 50 snow pictures as the Beast from the East hits

Drivers were also warned to stay away from Balkerne Hill because a lorry was stuck on the hill.

But it did not stop our readers from getting today's Gazette delivered.

Gazette:

'Nothing stops the paperboy in Alresford,' says mum Lorraine.

Gazette:

TRAVEL AND HIGHWAYS

First Essex withdrew all buses in Colchester until later in the afternoon but says it is running a limited service.

The bus company wrote on Twitter: "Customers please be advised we are assessing routes ongoing and will serve as much as possible as weather clears."

READ MORE: Main road shut after vehicle gets stuck in the snow

The poor weather had even affecting their phone lines so it is best to follow them on social media for regular updates in future.

Arriva buses had not followed suit but warned if conditions get worse, buses are likely to be sent back to the depot.

To keep an eye on the latest travel updates including train services, follow our live blog here but also...

Live traffic maps from Essex Highways here.

Essex County Council Travel News here and to track the gritters, see here.

Greater Anglia's service disruptions are here.

SCHOOLS

Children are rejoicing at the thought of a snow day as the list of schools closures grow by the hour. 

Staff are unable to get to work and the treacherous road conditions have led to scores of headteachers declaring a snow day.

However, some pupils in Colchester and enjoying their snow day at school with their friends.

READ MORE: Snow day? Not for these pupils who are hard at work (sort of!)

At St John's Green Primary School, which has a site in town and at Abbey Field, the show is going on.

A list of emergency school closures can be found here.

YOUR COUNCIL

Bin and recycling collections have been disrupted this week.

Colchester Council, which cancelled its collections today, has apologised for the inconvenience and asked people not to visit recycling centres.

Jessica Scott-Boutell, Colchester Council’s waste boss, said: “We do all we can to empty residents’ recycling and rubbish bags and containers during snowy and icy conditions. 

"Today, it was deemed unsafe for our crews to carry out their collection duties. We will be prioritising black bin/bags and food waste collections, rather than recycling, for the remainder of the week.  

“More snow is forecast, so my advice to residents is to check for recycling and rubbish collection updates on our website at www.colchester.gov.uk/recycling.” 

Check the council's website here for information throughout the week.

Gritters are out on the roads and already this winter Essex Highways has been out more than 80 times, compared to 67 during the entire winter of 2016/17.

Not only that but...

  •  Gritters have been out across all areas of Essex six times since midnight on Sunday.
  • There have been a total of 326 runs made by gritters in that time.
  • Expect gritters to be out across the county tonight again from 7pm and possibly again during the night.
  • There will then be another run at 4am on Thursday (118 runs by the gritters in total).
  • The Highways Team used 2,796.71 tonnes of rock salt from Sunday until Wednesday morning.
  • Since Sunday night, 22,570 miles of roads in Essex have been treated.
  • 120 drivers have so far been working, driving gritters since Sunday.
  • 26 farmers are also known to have helped salt, plough and help individuals in local areas.

Gazette:

Ian Grundy, Essex County Council's cabinet member for Highways, said: “Our Essex Highways teams are well prepared for the wintry weather that has been forecast over the coming days.

"We have checked our salt stocks are all sufficient. Gritters and equipment, including removable snow-ploughs, are all checked and ready to go. 

“Essex Highways has a full fleet of 62 gritting lorries and two mini-gritters ready to salt 2,000 miles of roads across Essex in less than three hours.

“Gritter drivers were out across the county on Monday night and in the early hours of Tuesday morning to help keep Essex moving.

"We get constantly updated national, regional and very local weather forecasts to help make sure we are ready for whatever the weather throws at us.”

HOSPITALS AND HEALTHCARE

All of Colchester General Hospital's services are running as usual (happy days) but do expect some delays there and at GP surgeries.