Gazette News
Temperatures fall in Ryedale following heavy snowfall
1:10pm Wednesday 8th February 2012
RYEDALE continued to shiver this week as temperatures plummeted following the heavy snow fall at the weekend.
Despite the treacherous conditions, only a handful of minor road accidents were reported. However, a 55-year-old man was airlifted to hospital following a sledging accident in a field at Terrington on Sunday afternoon. He was airlifted to James Cook University Hospital in Middlesbrough with spinal injuries.
A spokesman for the Great North Air Ambulance, which attended the scene, said: “The man was sledging with his family and went down a steep bank and came off the sledge at high speed and sustained spinal injuries. No one else was injured.”
Police reported 160 collisions across North Yorkshire between Saturday lunchtime and Monday. Sutton Bank was closed in both directions on Saturday night after a four-vehicle collision caused by ice. Police in Malton said they had dealt with just four minor accidents on Sunday due to ice on the roads.
The windscreen of a Peugeot 306 was also cracked in Pickering when a snowball was thrown at the vehicle.
Freezing conditions are also causing problems for refuse services in Ryedale and residents are being warned that collections may be delayed.
Beckie Bennett, streetscene manager for Ryedale District Council, said: “Refuse collection is our main priority, and, wherever possible, properties will receive this service. If your green bin is not emptied, please leave it out and we will get back to you as soon as we can.”
Mrs Bennett said garden waste collections were attempted on Monday but, due to the cold weather, many bins were frozen shut, the contents were frozen and many bins were getting damaged while trying to empty them.
She said: “Garden waste collections have now been suspended for the rest of the week, as council policy is to concentrate resources on the collection of refuse and kerbside recycling. We will not return until the next scheduled collection day.”
For more information visit www.ryedale.gov.uk or phone 01653 600666.