Snowdrifts are still cutting off struggling communities in some parts of Bradford leaving residents stranded in their homes and supplies running short.

Council road teams are working round the clock to try and clear the district’s roads, but hundreds of calls for help are still coming in.

But the majority of schools appear to be unaffected by the weather today with only one closure at Lees Primary School, in Keighley, which has been forced to shut for the remainder of this week due to no electric or heating.

New boilers are being fitted during the Easter break and the school will re-open on Monday April 15.

Bradford Council ‏tweeted last night saying a full grit of all primary routes was due to take place this morning at 5am.

Meanwhile there appears to be less disruption on the roads this morning with only a few still affected by the snow.

The A640 New Hey Road, Marsden and Cock Hill Lane, Shelf are closed.
Leeds Bradford Airport is open and seems to be operating as normal at the moment.

Train and bus services also appear to be running as normal.

Forecasters have warned the cold temperatures could last until the end of April.

Bradford Council’s Executive Member for Environment and Sustainability Coun Andrew Thornton said they are doing their best and added: “Almost all the major routes have been opened and the 700-mile network has been ploughed and or gritted following the heaviest reported snowfall in the country falling on parts of the district, according to national news reports.

“We are doing the best we can to clear some of the more isolated roads and minor roads. We are taking hundreds of calls and requests every day and are working hard to get through them all.”

Above Allerton there are about 25 families marooned from civilisation in the Long Lane area since Friday night, 14 homes have been cut off in Stanbury near Haworth by a wall of snow – Queensbury and Thornton have not escaped the wintry attack either.

Mother-of-three Sarah Petty, who lives at Aldersey Farm in Long Lane says her family’s heating options are running out.

“We have been stuck since Friday night and although I have been told today they have started to dig us out, this is not true. We are fast running out of coal and wood for our fires as we have no gas mains.”

Nick Jefferies, who also lives in Long Lane, said the only way out is for people to brave walking over the frozen fields into Allerton village.

“It would take about 40 minutes for someone who is fit to make the journey. I’ve seen people setting off looking as though they’re in the South Pole. The old wartime spirit has been conjured up by neighbours, but we are in a very serious situation here. We are completely marooned – walking is the only way out.”

Mr Jefferies said a friend who had been visiting him from the Isle of Man has had to abandon his car 20ft under snow to make it home.

“He had to get back home so he walked out and then has had to go by train and boat – he’ll have to sort the car out later. It’s still 20ft under snow.”

Mr Jefferies said he had loaned a local farmer his diesel supply so he could try and clear some snow with his tractor but in two hours, the farmer had only managed to get 20 yards and used up all the fuel.

“We’ve been reporting our plight to the Council, who tell us it’s been logged and they’ll get to us as soon as they can but we’ve not had any help so far.”

However, it is understood that by lunchtime yesterday a JCB had made it through the drifts to reach at least one of the first houses in Long Lane.

Fourteen households in Stanbury have been cut off since last Friday – the homes in Back Lane are blocked in by a wall of snow.

Chapel Lane in Queensbury was yesterday also blocked by 4ft of snow along its length and at the junction with New Park Road, there was a large drift at one side and at the other an 8ft pile of snow that ward councillor Michael Walls says he saw being “dumped there” by two JCBs, cutting off the road completely.

Coun Walls said piles of snow are costing local people dearly both financially and socially.

He said: “There’s a man who lives down there who has a number of serious health issues and has three medical appointments this week which he won’t be able to attend.”

Coun Walls has said he would take the man to hospital if the road could be unblocked – other people living in that road are believed to be paying £40 each to get to work by taxi from the other side of the snow wall.

Mothers with small children and pushchairs have been having to walk in the road to get to Foxhills Primary School until a band of them armed with shovels tried to clear a safer path.

Moorclose Avenue has also been blocked by snow allegedly dumped by diggers. Spring Holes Lane and Lower Heights Road in Thornton are also reported to have 5ft walls of snow and ice blocking both ends since just before last weekend.

One resident told the T&A yesterday: “Nothing gets in or out – there are seven households here including elderly and poorly people and four young children.”

Also in Thornton a pensioner cleared a route through 8ft snow drifts for traffic to pass through, only to have his yard broken into and his machinery stolen.

Metal cutting equipment was used to cut a hole through a secure container and steal the machinery and equipment the pensioner had gathered over his years of working.

To report a road that needs clearing call (01274) 431000.