HIGHWAY engineers have blamed incorrect weather forecasts and a rush-hour panic for Thursday's road chaos.

Heavy snowfall in County Durham and North Yorkshire led to gridlock on many roads on Thursday evening and caused dozens of minor accidents.

Angry drivers criticised the lack of gritters and snow ploughs, but Durham County Council's head of highway management Roger Elphick said they were still receiving weather forecasts at 3.50pm that predicted the snow would affect only high ground.

He said: "We were prepared for that, but by that time, of course, snow was also falling in most other parts of the county.

"Most people left work early in an effort to beat the snow and get home, but it meant that the normal rush-hour of about two-and-a-half hours was compressed into 45 minutes, which resulted in widespread snarl-ups."

A spokesman for the Meteorological Office said the snowfall in lower-lying areas had been unexpected.

Many drivers were left fuming by the road conditions, with traffic at a virtual standstill in Darlington, Durham, Consett and Chester-le-Street.

Carole Appleby, from Sunnybrow, near Bishop Auckland, said her usual 20-minute drive home from Durham turned into a four-hour nightmare.

One six-year-old boy was rescued by police after he became trapped in a blizzard and in desperate need of his medication.

He left his school in Newcastle and was travelling by bus to his home in Stanhope, Weardale.

His condition means he must receive medication by 6.30pm every day - but the bus became stuck in traffic on the A68 at Castleside, near Consett.

His worried mother contacted Durham Police and they used a four-wheel drive vehicle to reach the bus. He was taken to Durham's University Hospital, where doctors were able to treat him.

Meanwhile, the snowstorm left taxi passengers facing huge fares in the gridlocks.

One customer paid £23 for a two-mile journey between Darlington railway station and the town's Swaledale Avenue.

Barry Pearson, Darlington Borough Council's commercial and licensing manager, said it had received complaints.

"It is not that the taxi drivers are overcharging, it is due to the journey time being so long," he said.

Michael Dunn, director of Station Taxis, said his firm operates a rule that all journeys within Darlington cost a maximum of £5.

"Anything more than that is taking advantage of people," he said.

Police across the region urged motorists to get weather updates from other agencies, such as AA Roadwatch or local radio after many stations were inundated with calls.

PC Mike McGuire of Barnard Castle police, said: "We even had people calling up to find out about roads in Lancashire."