SEVERE weather conditions caused chaos across Ryedale today.

Many commuters took an hour and a half to drive on the A64 between Malton and York and major and minor roads were clogged with snow.

Mike Roberts, head of highways operations at North Yorkshire County Council, said: “In Ryedale, the minor roads are extremely difficult to drive on. “We are keeping all the main roads open, but in certain areas snow is still falling.

“Although there have been rumours that we decided not to grit the roads because the rain might wash it away, I can reassure the public that we have been out during the evening, during the night and this morning, doing everything we can.

“We have a team of 80 of our own gritters and 100 farmers who we have kitted out with snowploughs for emergencies such as these, and we haven’t stopped.

“Unfortunately when the snow keeps falling out of the sky, we can’t clear all of it, but we have worked flat out, and I would like to pay tribute to all our staff.”

North Yorkshire Police said that there were three reported traffic collisions, including ambulance overturned at Fylingdales up on the moors.

A spokesman for the Yorkshire Ambulance Service said: “We can confirm that the ambulance overturned in the snow, but they weren’t carrying any patients and nobody in the crew was injured.”

Another crash happened at 8.25am when a car went into a ditch on the back road between Sand Hutton and Stamford Bridge. The female driver was uninjured and a tractor pulled the car free from the ditch just after 9am.

Most schools in the area have closed for the day, including all those in Pickering, St Hilda's Ampleforth, Helmsley, Hovingham, Amotherby, Kirkbymoorside, Leavening, Norton College, Luttons Primary, Rillington Primary, Rosedale Abbey, Sherburn, Sheriff Hutton, Sinnington Primary, Slingsby and Weaverthorpe School.

Over at Foston, the school stayed open, despite schools at Welburn, Sand Hutton and Terrington closing for the day.

Headteacher Sarah Moore said: “We are quite a small school, just 17 pupils, so we have stayed open. “Parents are pleased, because it means that some of them can go to work.

“The only problem we are facing is that Sand Hutton Primary School is closed, and they usually provide our school lunches, so the children will have to go home for lunch.”