GUESTS and staff at Britain’s highest pub were hoping to leave the inn last night (Monday), after deep snow drifts left them stranded there for five days.

Tracy Daly, landlady of the Tan Hill Inn, near Reeth, North Yorkshire, said a snow blower and plough were due to clear drifts that ranged in height "from knee-high to above the head".

She said parts of the pub, which stands at 1,732ft at the head of Swaledale and Arkengarthdale, remained covered with eight inches of ice yesterday.

Mrs Daly said she had passed the time by giving the pub a spring clean, but was eager for the snow to clear in order to attend a doctor’s appointment in Reeth.

She said while the amount of snow was unusual for late March, the pub had seen snow in July and August.