Met Office warning on icy roads

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Motorists across much of Wales are being warned to take extra care on the roads through Wednesday night because of ice, snow and sleet on the roads.

The Met Office has issued a severe weather warning across the south, mid and north of the country.

Many roads were already treacherous following snowfall and ice at the start of the week, which has not had a chance to melt in the freezing conditions.

Temperatures are once again expected to fall below freezing overnight.

The areas affected by the weather warning in south Wales are Blaenau Gwent, Bridgend, Caerphilly, Merthyr Tydfil, Monmouthshire, Neath Port Talbot, Rhondda Cynon Taf and Torfaen.

Powys and Ceredigion in mid Wales, and Denbighshire, Flintshire, Wrexham, Conwy, Gwynedd and Anglesey in the north have all been warned of icy roads too.

BBC weather forecaster Derek Brockway said the mercury could drop to minus three degrees centigrade overnight.

He said the problem was rain and snow falling onto frozen ground.

"Temperatures are picking up a little bit tomorrow with highs of two to four degrees, and maybe seven on the south coast," he added.

'Slipping on ice'

An accident and emergency consultant has warned pedestrians to beware of persistent hidden icy patches on north-facing and shady pavements, following a spate of falls.

Swansea-based Mike McCabe said: "We've been exceptionally busy over the last week and seen a lot of patients suffering from fractures, particularly wrists, ankles and shoulders, as a result of slipping on ice.

"Elderly people are particularly at risk, and if they don't need to go out, they should stay indoors. The weather may be getting milder, but there are likely to be some hazardous icy patches remaining."

Mr McCabe also appealed to the public to avoid coming to A&E with minor ailments over the Christmas and New Year holidays, so staff could concentrate on treating patients with genuine emergency conditions and injuries.

He reminded patients needing to see a GP over the holidays that details of out-of-hours services would be available on a voicemail message at their local surgery.