Selby rail crash motorist convicted
December 13, 2001
The motorist accused of falling asleep and causing the Selby train crash has been convicted of 10 charges of causing death by dangerous driving.
Gary Hart's Land Rover plunged off the M62 motorway onto the East Coast main line on 28 February.
A southbound GNER express train collided with the car before being deflected into the path of a fully-laden northbound coal train.
Hart has been released on bail and will be sentenced next month. The judge, Mr Justice Mackay, said it was inevitable that he would receive a substantial prison term.
Outside the court, police described Hart, who had spent the night before the crash chatting on the phone to a woman, as a 'mobile catastrophe waiting to happen'.
Rebuilding lives
Speaking after the announcement, relatives of people injured and killed in the crash spoke of their relief that the case was over. Many said it was now time for them to start trying to rebuild their lives.
Hart, 37, from Strubby in Lincolnshire, had denied the 10 charges of causing death by dangerous driving. But the jury at Leeds Crown Court heard evidence Hart had fallen asleep at the wheel after the night spent on the telephone to Kristeen Panter, a woman he had met via an internet dating agency eight days before the crash.
The self-employed building contractor was on his way from Lincolnshire to Greater Manchester when the tragedy happened.
He was driving a Land Rover pulling a trailer which was carrying a Renault.
December 31, 2001
The Queen Mother was absent from the Royal Family's visit to church again on Sunday as she continued to suffer from a 'chill'. She did not attend church last Sunday and was not seen at the Christmas Day service. The Prince of Wales told members of the public outside the church in Sandringham that his grandmother, who is 101, was suffering from a chill. Some royal watchers claimed it was the first time they could remember her not attending any of the traditional Christmas church services on the Royal Family's Norfolk estate.
December 31, 2001
Partygoers preparing for New Year celebrations were being warned today to take care on the roads with freezing temperatures predicted for the last day of the year.
The advice is to be careful and wrap up warm with the bitterly cold weather set to continue for the next few days.
Scotland is expected to continue to bear the brunt of the severe conditions on New Year's Eve, with snow showers expected in the north and western parts throughout the day.
Merry makers in Newcastle can expect a chillier night than many with temperatures as low as -3 C overnight.
London will be very cold, with temperatures in the centre down to freezing, and places in the outskirts dropping to -3 C to -4 C.
December 28, 2001
People in the North-East and Scotland were today bracing themselves for blizzard conditions following severe gales ovenight.
The roof was blown off the swimming pool at the Coylumbridge Hotel in Aviemore and travel has been disrupted north of the border, with the wintry conditions causing a number of problems on the roads and leading to the cancellation of several ferry services.
A number of trees have also been blown down in Dumfries and Galloway and the Lothian and Borders area.
The north of England has also been hit by heavy snow showers and strong winds. In Sheffield, buildings in the West Street area of the city centre were evacuated after a cable from a 100-foot high crane was brought down by high winds.
Severe drifting
The city's Supertram network was halted amid concerns its overhead power cable could have been affected.
Airports and roads in the north of Scotland were disrupted by snow on Thursday.
A number of flights were diverted from Aberdeen Airport and the conditions also led to a temporary closure at Inverness Airport.
Weather forecasters are predicting that the severe gale force winds which affected Scotland overnight will gradually ease throughout Friday morning.
However, snow showers will be most frequent and heaviest in the north, with a warning of blizzards and severe drifting on high ground.
Some forecasters have predicted that up to 20 centimetres of fresh snow could fall in the blizzard-hit areas.
In the north east, Grampian Police said the Lecht on the A939 Corgarff to Tomintoul road was now totally stormbound due to high winds and snow.
The road itself is blocked, as are the A93 Braemar to Blairgowrie road at Cairnwell, the B976 Crathie to Gairnshiel road, and the B975 Banchory to Fettercairn road at Cairn o' Mount.
Road closed
Grampian Police said all other roads in the area remained open, although many were affected by snow, slush and ice. Forecasters have predicted that winds will be gusting up to 70 miles an hour, and snow is expected to keep falling until late afternoon.
All roads in Shetland are said to be passable with care, although police said many were affected by drifting snow. Further south, a train travelling from Glasgow Central to Paisley Canal came to a standstill at Dumbreck station in Glasgow on Friday morning after being struck by a tree branch.
A section of scaffolding collapsed on Hyndland Street in the west end of the city, closing the road.
Strathclyde Police said there were also problems at the Cathkin roundabout in Rutherglen, while the A812 Renton to Dumbarton road was closed by a fallen tree.
Ferry operator Caledonian MacBrayne said it had suspended the Largs, Cumbrae and Colintrive Rhobudoch sailings because of the bad weather.
The 0820 GMT Brodick to Ardrossan service and the return at 0945 were cancelled, while sailings from Oban to Mull, Lismore, Colonsay and Barra also face disruption.
Stena Line sailings between Stranraer and Belfast have also been supended until further notice.
Elsewhere, police said the Forth Road Bridge and the Skye Bridge were closed to high-sided vehicles.
More sheltered southern areas of Scotland are expected to experience sunny spells and scattered wintry showers.
Cold temperatures
Heavy snow showers and strong winds are forecast in the north of England, especially from Cumbria to Northumberland, along with sleet and snow showers in western England.
There may also be some snow showers in London and the south, which can expect cold temperatures over the weekend.
Meanwhile, bookmakers will make a tidy £1m profit after a white Christmas failed to materialise.
Snow failed to fall on four of the UK's major cities on Christmas Day, but the weather is set to get worse.
Bookmakers William Hill said while snow fell in Cardiff and Manchester, there was none in London and Glasgow and they would not therefore be paying out.
More than £1m had been staked on a white Christmas. But a few punters did collect.
William Hill said an Edinburgh man scooped almost £4,000 after snow fell in Cardiff and Manchester.
But the punter, whose stake was £1,800, would have doubled his money had London and Glasgow also had a white Christmas.
Another gambler in Cardiff was £3,000 better off after staking £500 at 5/1 for snow in the Welsh capital.
The north east of Scotland suffered heavy snow falls in early hours of Boxing Day.
Several sporting fixtures fell victim to the weather on Boxing Day. The Division Three match between Carlisle and Darlington was off. Horse racing was called off at Hereford, Huntingdon, Sedgefield, Towcester, Wetherby and Ayr because of the frozen turf.
In rugby union, the match between Glasgow and Edinburgh was also called off.
An official white Christmas was confirmed in Northern Ireland. The Meteorological Office said a snow flurry fell on its offices at Aldergrove, Co Antrim, soon after dawn. BBC pictures of snow around Europe
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