UK weather: army dispatches battlefield ambulances

Just 15-20 army personnel are currently helping to battle the treacherous conditions that have crippled roads across Scotland and in Northern England, leaving those in more remote areas stranded.

A spokeswoman for the Ministry of Defence told Channel 4 News that the Armed Forces have yet to receive a formal request for help from the Scottish government. However, acting on “grace and favour” a small number of troops have been helping the emergency services in Scotland since Monday.

“Normally our policy is to provide help in life threatening situations – which is why we have a small number of Army drivers helping the Scottish Ambulance Service and paramedics with 999 calls,” she said. “But we haven’t had a formal request from the Scotland Office yet.”

Prime Minister David Cameron assured MPs today that the military “stands ready to help”.

Labour’s Gregg McClymont, MP for Cumbernault, Kilsyth and Kirkintilloch East, said Arctic conditions sweeping across Scotland had trapped many of his constituents in their cars and stranded children at their schools overnight.

“Can you assure me that the UK government is offering all possible assistance to the Scottish authorities, up to and including the use of military personnel?,” he asked.

Mr Cameron said: “I can certainly give you that assurance that we stand ready to give any assistance.”

First Minister Alex Salmond last night admitted his government had been “caught out” by a “perfect storm” of heavy snow and bitter cold.

Writing for Channel 4 News in Scotland, journalist Dave Wyllie said the snow chaos is the Scottish National Party’s first large scale emergency. Transport Secretary Stuart Stevenson faced calls for his resignation during an emergency statement to Holyrood this afternoon, with Labour ministers branding the SNP’s response as a “first-class cock-up”. (Read more – Snow chaos: has the Scottish government done enough?)

A spokesman for Transport Scotland, Scotland’s national transport agency, told Channel 4 News, “Whilst the military has been providing ad hoc support to ambulance services throughout the country, there are currently no plans to ask the MoD for official assistance on the road network.

“However, we are exploring areas in which the military would be able to assist, if required, in future cases.”

Hundreds of cars were left stranded for a second night last night as temperatures plunged as low as -20C.

More than 100 vehicles were trapped as a sudden heavy snow shower blew into North Yorkshire. Hundreds more remain stranded for a second day on the M8 motorway between Glasgow and Edinburgh with gritters unable to move thick ice.

Army deploys battlefield ambulances

With the Army in Scotland is Channel 4 News' north of England correspondent Nick Martin. 

Authorities have called in the troops to help deal with the snow and ice 32 Signal Regiment (Volunteers) was called in on Monday to help the Scottish Ambulance Service and since then has responded to more than 50 call outs. 

Lieutenant Colonel Phil Donegan told Channel 4 News: "The use of the army is an absolute last resort but the conditions demand this course of action. 

"The roads are sheet ice and our troops are using 4x4 vehicles and battlefield ambulances to get to people who need attention. 

"Our drivers are specially trained for all conditions including snow and ice so they are using those skills to the full."

Medical equipment has been transferred to military vehicles which are better able to tackle the black ice which has formed on many roads around Scotland's central belt. 
They have been called to a variety of incidents, from a man who slipped and broke his leg, to a baby which needed urgent medical attention, he said.

In Edinburgh, the city council has officially requested the army's help to clear roads and pavements. A spokesman said it was in addition to more than 600 staff.

In Glasgow city centre this morning many roads remained icy with rush hour traffic struggling to move.

Snow heroes

Age UK has urged people to look out for their elderly neighbours, while local councils have called for ‘snow heroes’ to help those trapped in their homes.

Louise Lunn is one of 150 people who answered Kirkless council’s call for people to help their neighbours pick up shopping or prescription medication.

Ms Lunn told Channel 4 News she has been delivering essentials to her neighbour Joan Schofield, 85, who had been stranded at home for two weeks.

Mrs Schofield told Channel 4 News: “You wake up every day at your wits end wondering if you will get food today. It’s frightening. I was stuck inside for two weeks and I couldn’t get out to pay the gas bill.

“I was reluctant to ask the neighbours for help but my family live in Gloucestershire.”

Meanwhile, Derek Masterton from the British Red Cross told Channel 4 News that one volunteer braved Scottish snowstorms for a 240 mile round trip in order to transport a patient from Sutherland to a hospital in Inverness.

The Red Cross has 5,500 volunteers in Scotland, mainly acting as support for Scotland’s Ambulance Services – collecting patients and helping ferry doctors to hospitals in special 4×4’s kitted out with defibrillators and other medical equipment.

While Mr Masterton said the Red Cross has a huge emergency depot in Northern Scotland, which usually suffers from the worst of the weather, the scope of the bad weather came as a surprise.

“We have 41 vehicles up there with special equipment, but we weren’t expecting the weather to be so bad all over Scotland – it’s unusual,” he said.

“Some volunteers have gone on foot, wading through knee deep snow to people,” he told Channel 4 News. “And we had one Subaru dealer who leant us a 4×4 complete with a driver.”

Forecast: more snow to come

The Met Office told Channel 4 News that the extremely cold start to December indicates that the UK is on course for a particularly cold month.

Snow showers across Northern England and Scotland are expected to continue today, with temperatures falling to lows of -12C in Northern England and -15C in Scotland tonight. In the south, temperatures will remain sub-zero at around -2C to -4C.

Britain will be given a brief respite over the weekend as temperatures climb to as much as 7C in the south.

However, a spokesman for the Met told Channel 4 News: “It will still be freezing at night over the weekend, which will mean the biggest problem will be black ice on the roads.”

Looking ahead to next week, the colder temperatures are expected to return, with snow showers in the North and North East of England, and in Scotland, expected to continue.