THOUSANDS of schoolchildren in the North-East had a second day off school yesterday as schools remained closed due to weather.

Across the country, flights and train journeys cotninued to be affected by the weather and motorists struggled with treacherous icy conditions on the roads.

However, most of the North-East's roads remained clear, with only a handful closed due to impacted snow or ice.

Weather forecasters last night predicted that the worst of the wintry weather was over, but warned that snow melting in yesterday's unexpected sunshine was likely to freeze overnight, causing black ice for drivers this morning.

Yesterday, 24 schools remained closed in North Yorkshire, 25 in Teesside and east Cleveland, one in Darlington and 13 in County Durham.

In County Durham alone, it meant a second day off school for more than 5,000 pupils.

Most schools were expected to reopen today, except for Durham Johnston upper school, but local education authorities asked parents to listen to local radio or check with schools this morning.

Ferryhill Business and Enterprise College, in County Durham, used text-message technology to contact parents about the school closure.

The automated "Informer" system allows parents to be contacted by text messages, e-mail or pre-recorded telephone messages.

Police in Darlington issued a warning to snowballing youths after a spate of incidents involving cars being targeted.

Sergeant Graham Chapman said police were inundated with calls. "It's incredibly dangerous, as a snowball hitting a car might cause a driver to swerve on to the pavement or into the path of an oncoming vehicle," he added.

The number of problems caused by ice improved yesterday as grit made it harder for snow and ice to settle on roads.

Most were passable with care, apart from Grinkle Lane, near Loftus, east Cleveland, where a gritter skidded into a verge.

In Darlington and County Durham, some C-roads were closed yesterday morning.

North Yorkshire's roads were among the worst affected, particularly the area around Goathland and Whitby, which was hit by drifting snow and ice.

A Canadian student was treated in hospital for mild concussion and amnesia after slipping on ice in Darlington. She was spotted on security cameras lying on the pavement near the town hall, just before midnight.

Teesside International Airport was expected to be back to normal today after some of its flights were rescheduled during Wednesday's blizzards.