MOTORISTS were urged to stay at home this weekend as a winter white-out ground East Lancashire to a shuddering halt.

And weathermen warned that the big chill would continue to cause havoc into next week as the Weather rapidly deteriorated.

Most of East Lancashire was battered by massive snow drifts as traffic chaos reigned.

Minor routes were blocked as town centres became gridlocked with drifting snow and major roads were reduced to barely visible tracks.

Abandoned cars and drivers parking on roads to avoid getting trapped by the snow added to the chaos.

Motorists who were forced to drive were taking a softly-softly approach - crawling in convoy along treacherous roads.

Police, who were faced with a barrage of minor accidents, were deluged with inquiries from motorists asking if it was safe to travel.

They warned that motorways were only passable with extreme care.

The gritters worked round-the-clock to keep major routes open, but struggled against deteriorating conditions.

The east of the county suffered the worst of the weather as winds of up to 30mph caused severe drifts.

The M65 was reduced to a single lane on both carriageways, but the M6 was passable with extreme care. The M62 at Ripponden was reduced to a single lane.

Drivers imposed their own 30 mph limits on the M65 from Burnley to Colne as the motorway was reduced to a barely visible single track.

Colne Police reported all roads to Yorkshire were closed and expected Manchester Road in Burnley and the Blacko to Gisburn highway to be blocked later today as conditions worsened.

Police and the AA strongly advised drivers not to travel unless it was absolutely necessary and to stick to the main routes.

A police spokesman said: "The major roads are passable, but great care needs to be taken.

"The best thing to do is to stay at home."

In Darwen, police said the town centre was at a virtual standstill.

A spokesman said: "You can hardly drive a car through the town centre streets.

"It is a nightmare and most roads are not passable." Many buses and trains were cancelled and sporting events, including the Clarets' match, across the area were wiped out. Commuters were advised to check timetables before venturing out.

In Rossendale the Edenfield bypass was reported to be particularly difficult.

Forecasters said that parts of Britain were colder than Kiev in the Ukraine as temperatures plunged as low as minus 17c.

The AA warned that freezing snow was turning some roads into "sheet ice." A spokesman said: "We have had a surge of call-outs to crashed cars, flat batteries and frozen engines.

"Many drivers have not been prepared for the snowy conditions and some are also driving too fast."

He advised drivers to wipe all snow from their windscreens so they were not "driving blind."

A Manchester Weather Centre spokesman said snowfalls should die off later today.

But snow showers would fall again tomorrow as temperatures struggled to rise above freezing.

He said a severe frost would plunge temperatures to -5 for the next couple of nights.

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