THE BEAST from the East snarled and turned into Storm Emma over Ledbury on Thursday and throughout the night into Friday morning, as up to one foot of powdery snow fell on the market town.

The depths of snow were more in places and less elsewhere, due to wind-blown drifts and the unusually small and dry nature of the flakes that fell: during a period when a rare amber weather alert was in place for the region.

On Thursday morning, in advance of significant snowfall, many schools including the John Masefield High School and Ledbury Primary had decided to open.

But parents were rung to collect their children from the high school at 11am, as poor weather conditions set in, and Ledbury Primary made the same call to parents by 1pm.

There were widespread schools closures throughout Herefordshire on Friday.

Early on Friday morning, the BBC was reporting no direct train services from Birmingham and Hereford.

And the official advice by noon was still that "trains between Hereford and Birmingham may be cancelled or delayed".

By 11am, snowfall was limited over Ledbury at last, and some residents took the opportunity to clear paths, drives and pavements.

There was evidence of considerable gritting and pavement clearances in Ledbury High Street, but not so much in other central locations in the town.

Gritting appeared to have been limited or non-existent in Bye Street and several motorists, attempting to drive to the town centre, had to be pushed by public-spirited residents as wheels spun and churned.

Heading towards noon on Friday, significant snow showers for Ledbury were still being forecast on some sites, and the temperature was reported as a chilly minus 2 degrees Celsius.

(All pictures by Gary Bills-Geddes)