Hundreds of motorists were left stranded overnight as extreme weather continued to wreak havoc across the UK – with forecasters warning the country “is not out of the woods yet”.
Strengthening winds caused blizzards and drifting snow in some parts, bringing roads to a standstill and leaving commuters facing travel disruption for the fourth day in a row.
In Scotland, troops were called in to transport medics to and from Edinburgh’s two biggest hospital’s after a request from NHS Lothian to the Scottish Government.
The extreme weather has seen health boards cancel non-essential operations and outpatient appointments on Friday, while NHS 24 has described its operations as being “stretched”.
Princess Royal Maternity Hospital in Glasgow also saw tiles fly from its roof under pressure from the extreme weather.
The so-called Beast from the East, which met Storm Emma on Thursday, has already proved deadly.
A seven-year-old girl became the latest to die during the severe weather on Thursday.
The child, believed to be a pedestrian, was fatally injured after a car hit a house on Bodrigan Road in Looe at about 2.30pm, Devon and Cornwall Police said.
A 75-year-old woman was earlier found dead in a snow-covered street in Leeds, while Hampshire Police said a 46-year-old man died after a collision involving a lorry and van on the A34 southbound near Tot Hill services.
A 60-year-old man who died after being pulled from the water at Danson Park, near Welling, south-east London, on Wednesday, was named by the Metropolitan Police as Stephen Cavanagh.
The National Grid also issued a “gas deficit warning” prompting fears of a shortage, but households were reassured domestic supplies would not be affected.
Nearly all train operators warned of cancellations and disruption again on Friday and hundreds more flights were cancelled.
Motorists across much of the UK have been warned against driving unless absolutely essential.