By Danielle NuttallHIGHWAYS bosses issued a warning to motorists last night as the region braced itself for more severe winter weather.Snow was expected to cover much of East Anglia overnight and cause problems during this morning's rush-hour.

By Danielle Nuttall

HIGHWAYS bosses issued a warning to motorists last night as the region braced itself for more severe winter weather.

Snow was expected to cover much of East Anglia overnight and cause problems during this morning's rush-hour.

Further snow showers have been predicted for tomorrow and Thursday, leading highways bosses to urge drivers to take care on the roads.

Suffolk County Council's gritting fleet was called into action at 4pm yesterday and will be hitting the roads again from 4am today.

The Highways Agency urged motorists to check the weather forecast and road conditions before they set out and to delay their journey if the weather is bad.

Motorists were also advised to prepare with a winter weather kit in their vehicle including warm clothes, a hot drink, de-icer, a torch and a spade.

East Anglian Daily Times weatherman Ken Blowers said last night: “The cold spell is going on for the rest of the week with showers of snow and hail at times interspersed with brief sunny spells.

“It's going to get colder because the easterly winds will increase on Tuesday in strength and that will give us a marked wind chill effect. Day times temperatures will be 2C (36F).”

Heavy snow falls and icy conditions led to a spate of accidents on the region's roads yesterday as motorists made their way to work.

Gritting teams had been busy all night, but the freezing temperatures led to problems on a number of routes including the A12, A146 and A143.

A number of roads had to be treated for a second time before the rock salt could take affect.

One of the worst accidents was on the A146 at Worlingham, near Beccles, when five vehicles were involved in a collision at about 5.45am.

The road was closed for almost two hours in both directions until the damaged cars were removed from the scene.

Traffic on the A1065 near Mildenhall suffered tailbacks following a two-car crash shortly after 7am, but both the driver of the Volkswagen Golf and the Ford Fusion were uninjured.

There were also numerous accidents across north Suffolk with motorists sliding off the road in the slippery conditions.

A spokesman for Suffolk police said: “We were kept very busy with many reports of minor collisions and vehicles sliding off the road across north Suffolk, but fortunately there were no reports of serious injuries.”

A spokeswoman for Suffolk County Council added last night: “Icy conditions are expected overnight so Suffolk County Council will be gritting priority one routes including all A and B roads in the county.

“Gritting will begin at 4pm and from 4am. Gritting of the roads does not make them ice free. Drivers are advised to talk extra care in winter conditions.”

Jack Thain, chairman of the Suffolk Pensioners' Association, urged the elderly to take extra precautions during the cold snap.

“The most important thing is to wear a hat as the biggest loss of heat goes out of the head. Keep the house warm and the doors shut. They are little things but are very, very important,” he said.

“The other thing is when there are very frost nights the pavements don't get gritted. You have to watch very carefully when walking along the pavements, especially where they branch into back alleys.”

danielle.nuttall@eadt.co.uk