AS people endured treacherous road conditions and power cuts, thousands of children had a day off school as Arctic weather conditions gripped the region yesterday.

More than 80 schools in North Yorkshire and County Durham were closed as blizzards caused chaos.

Dozens of roads were closed, and with temperature's expected to drop to -6C overnight, emergency services last night warned motorists to proceed with extreme caution.

An army of 300 electrical engineers were last night working to reconnect power to 13,000 homes in County Durham and Northumbria.

Many of the region's schools were affected, particularly in Derwentside, Wear Valley and Teesdale.

With icy temperatures and more snow forecast overnight, many schools were expected to stay shut today.

In Darlington, Skerne Park Junior School closed for the day but will re-open this morning.

A driver in his 30s was taken to Darlington Memorial Hospital after a weather-related road accident. Police said he steered the Mazda car he was driving into a ditch in Yarm Road while trying to avoid another car.

Most of the region's roads were passable with care, although several minor roads in County Durham remained shut last night. These included the A689 west of Cowshill, Weardale, the B6299 Sunniside to Crook, the B6276 in Lunedale, and the B6278 Stanhope to Egglestone road.

A spokesman for County Durham police said: "We are warning drivers to take the utmost care. All the main trunk roads in the county are largely unaffected by the snow and are subject to salting and gritting work. However, because of the foot-and-mouth scare, Durham County Council has struggled to clear roads, particularly in rural areas. They would usually bring farmers in to help with gritting and snow ploughing, but foot and mouth means they are not being used. For this reason snow and ice pose a real danger to travellers."

North East Ambulance Service reported no more accidents than normal because motorists had tended to heed safety warnings.

Trade was hit by the weather in Stockton with only a handful of traders reaching the weekly market yesterday.

Electricity engineers from the South of England were drafted in when 18,000 homes and businesses were left without heat or light.

Blizzards left thousands in the dark, bringing down power lines and leaving 18,000 people in the North East and North Yorkshire without electricity yesterday morning.

By yesterday afternoon, 13,000 people still had no power.

Anyone wishing to report a power cut should telephone NEDL on 0800 668877