Shepherd John Small, who farms on the Mendips near Charterhouse, Somerset, lost more than 100 newborn lambs buried under the heavy, drifting snow. He spent much of yesterday morning battling to dig out the bedraggled animals which were almost impossible to see in the blizzard. But if I didn't reach them within 10 minutes of them being covered they didn't stand a chance. It's not going to be until the snow clears that I know exactly how many I've lost. The biggest factor is starvation because of the cold for those lambs who are newly-born or in the first week of life.
Farmers can expect fairly heavy losses.
Blizzards, sleet and torrential rain lashed many areas of Britain and there were flooding and severe weather alerts - just three days before the start of the cricket season. A tragedy was averted on the windswept M3 when Simon Bull, an AA patrolman, saved an unconscious motorist trapped under water after his van crashed, somersaulted and ended upside down in a water-logged ditch. And a mother and son had a narrow escape after being trapped in their car by rising flood waters close to the River Ouse at Padbury, near Buckingham, Bucks. Stranded 100 yards from dry land, the woman dialled for emergency help on her mobile phone. They were eventually rescued by firefighters from the roof of the car.