HEAVY snow brought chaos to the region last night as motorists battled through near blizzard conditions to reach home.

Angry drivers criticised a lack of gritters and snowploughs after the two-hour snow storm - which coincided with the evening rush hour - caused gridlock on many roads and left scores of minor accidents in its wake.

Police closed several roads, including the A66 trans-Pennine route and the A170 Sutton Bank road near Thirsk, North Yorkshire.

Traffic was brought to a standstill in many towns, including Durham City, Darlington and Consett. Newcastle Airport was closed for an hour.

Several lorries jack-knifed on the A6072, between Bishop Auckland and Darlington, causing jams more than a mile long.

For many motorists, journeys which normally take minutes stretched into several hours.

Anne-Marie Horsley took two hours to drive three miles from Darlington town centre along the A68 to the A1 junction.

"It was horrendous, all I could see was a long line of red brake lights stretching into the distance," she said.

A spokesman for Darlington Borough Council admitted the sudden snowfall had taken them by surprise.

He said: "All day the weather reports from the Met Office said rain. Once the snow started we got our gritters out."

The weather is expected to turn milder today.

* Three children needed hospital treatment after their school bus skidded on a ice at Esperley Lane, County Durham. None of the youngsters, all pupils at Staindrop Comprehensive School, was seriously hurt.