A six-hour blizzard, the worst in Northamptonshire for a quarter of a century, raged last Friday night cutting off villages and leaving a trail of abandoned cars and lorries.
Kettering, Wellingborough, Rushden and Northampton came to a standstill as they were blocked from end to end by motorists trying to drive on the treacherous roads, covered with packed snow.
Roads between the towns were blocked by drifts for many hours and travel became impossible with taxi drivers refusing to be called out and bus services suspended.
Ketteringalmost came to a standstill when the Arctic weather conditions swept the country. Streets were jammed with traffic and several of the town’s social functions were cancelled.
The trouble began at 4.30 p.m. on Friday, according to Chief Inspector S. Beaver, when people left work for home. The police station received messages continuously about traffic hold-ups and accidents.
Gritting
But anticipating a big freeze Kettering Borough Surveyor’s department sent out gritting equipment on Thursday afternoon and Friday morning.
As the snow settled they continued their task although it became increasingly difficult as vehicles stuck in the snow and on icy hills.
Borough Surveyor, Mr. H. G. Perry, said lorry driver’s passing through the town praised workmen for their efforts in keeping the roads clear.
East Midlands Electricity Board at Kettering were inundated with calls but workmen going to service and mend household appliances met with some difficulty trying to get through the blocked roads.
By-roads were in a bad condition but trunk roads were passable in Desborough Urban Council’s area. They had workmen busy gritting roads too, and the county council surveyor’s department workmen dealt with main roads.
Among social functions cancelled were Kettering Car Club dinner at Alconbury Motel, and the Hillside Players’ production of Dear Miss Phoebe at Corby, because the coach taking the cast to the theatre failed to turn up.
Mr. John Taylor, prospective Conservative Parliamentary candidate for Kettering – due to speak at Barton Ward Conservative Association dinner at the George Hotel, could not get through.
Despite these atrocious weather conditions, Rushden and Bedford police had no reports of any serious accidents in the area although several roads were littered with abandoned vehicles.
A Rushden police spokesman said they had been called out several times on Friday night, mainly to vehicles that had skidded across the road.
At the height of last week’s blizzards traffic in Rushden was reduced to moving at walking pace and there was a traffic jam on the main Wellingborough – Higham Ferrers road.
Tons of Salt
Rushden urban council workmen, armed with a snowplough and 100 tons of salt, worked through Friday night to keep the main roads open.
Their efforts were hampered by the severe temperatures which followed the snowfall, causing sheet ice to form under the layer of snow left by the plough.
Mr. F. J. Williams an agricultural engineer, of Sanders Lodge, brought in two tractors with snowplough attachments.
On Saturday morning there were still about half a dozen cars which had been abandoned during the height of the blizzard on the A45 between Rushden and Wellingborough.
An example of how bad the conditions were on Friday can be seen by the ordeal of Mr. Eric Brook, managing director of Robert Marriott Ltd., of Rushden.
Abandon Car
It took him five hours to get from Rushden to Bozeat. He had to abandon his car at Knuston. Mr. Brook had to use a company Land Rover to get to a buffet being given by the firm.
Thrapston and Oundle escaped the worst effects of the blizzard though many motorists faced long delays and some people preferred to stay at Kettering overnight rather than risk travelling.
The most critical phase was between 4 p.m. and 9 p.m. and Bythorn Hill was a particular trouble spot.
An articulated tanker stuck outside the White Hart and caused delays. Children from Bythorn Primary School couldn’t get back to Raunds, Musgrove and Keyston after the school bus failed to reach Bythorn.
Land Rovers from Spillers, the pet food firm, took them back after they had trudged up Bythorn Hill.
Pupils returning from Huntingdon Grammar School and the Secondary Modern School faced a walk from Molesworth. Some of them had to walk two miles to Keyston before they were home.
Regulars at the Masons Arms, Twywell, got a shock when they found the pub closed after the landlord and his wife got stuck in a drift halfway between Twywell and Thrapston. They were forced to return to their old home at Midland Road, Thrapston for the night.
One of Thrapston’s taxi men got stuck in the tiny village of Brington and had to abandon his taxi. Shop assistants who work at Kettering arrived home late, some of them not reaching Thrapston until 9.30 in the evening.
By Saturday morning all main roads were cleared and by Monday most minor roads in Thrapston were also clear of snow.
The Rev. M. Hambleton, Baptist Minister at Thrapston, was agreeably surprised when he had no difficulty reaching Aldwincle to take a Sunday service.
Most of the blizzard brought cold, inconvenience and boring delays to the Wellingborough area but it also led to moments of high drama when a lorry loaded with seven and a half tons of explosives was stranded in Sheep Street, Wellingborough.
ICI explosives experts were consulted but confirmed that there was no threat to the public. The load was returned to Irchester by a breakdown vehicle.
Main roads to Rushden, Kettering and Northampton were blocked by a combination of snow and abandoned cars. Motorists who gave up the struggle to get home often added to the problems of others who came along later.
United Counties maintained most of their services but they were generally running up to two hours late.
Drivers from the Wellingborough British Road Services depot stayed at their base and cancelled normal night runs because of reports of widespread road chaos.
Wellingborough police station was turned into an impromptu reception centre as stranded motorists sheltered throughout the night. Police reported an almost total standstill on most of the main roads out of the town.
One Wellingborough taxi firm reports working until 2 a.m. on Saturday but most operators were very reluctant to be called out.
Families had to wait anxiously until ten o’clock in some cases before Wellingborough factory workers returned home.
Parents of young children were alarmed when their sons and daughters didn’t return home and only relaxed when telephone calls to schools – particularly in the Wollaston area – confirmed that they were stranded there.
The annual Wellingborough Golf Ball had to be called off when only six people turned up at Wicksteed Park. Unfortunately, it was too late to cancel the food and four people decided to make the best of a bad job by tucking into a three-course meal before battling home.
