WELCOME to the town’s biggest ice rink!

That’s what it felt like in Huddersfield as freak weather brought chaos to the roads and schools.

Many people were hurt as they slipped on icy pavements and paths and staff at the A & E department at Huddersfield Royal Infirmary were inundated with hundreds of casualties.

One patient, who went in with back injuries after a fall, said: “It was like a war zone in there.”

Hundreds of schoolchildren stayed at home as many schools across Kirklees were closed or partially closed as the icy weather took its toll.

The problems were caused when rain and drizzle landed on roads and pavements which were below freezing.

That meant every surface was coated with sheets of clear ice.

Huddersfield weather expert Paul Stevens said: “We weather people have to admit we got caught out by this.

“It is a very unusual condition which is seen in places like Canada, where an ice storm like this causes real problems.

“The freezing fog yesterday meant temperatures on the ground stayed well below freezing.

“Milder air moved in and as the snow hit the milder air it became rain but the instant it landed on the freezing surfaces, it froze.

“The resultant ice was totally clear which caused people to think it was safe and brought about the problems.

“It warmed up fairly quickly later in the day but that brought more problems, with an inch of rain in just a few hours.

“We can expect much milder and wetter weather from today for the next few days, with temperatures as much as 8° Celsius.”

Kirklees Council highways spokesman Mark Dobson said: “We had gritted the roads on Thursday evening but when the rain hit the freezing surfaces on side roads and pavements, it turned to bottle ice which was really treacherous.

“We got all the gritting crews to work in the big town centres like Huddersfield and Dewsbury, gritting pavements and paths, to try and ease the problems.

“The temperatures then rose which eased the situation.”

West Yorkshire Police said they received an exceptionally high number of calls from motorists yesterday morning, reporting road traffic collisions as agencies worked to clear roads and manage the situation.

Pedestrians were also urged to be extremely careful using untreated paths and side roads on estates due to black ice caused by rain falling on freezing pavements.

Insp Steve Reed of West Yorkshire Police, said: “We received an exceptionally high amount of road traffic collisions throughout the early hours of Friday, mainly on each of the major motorway networks due to vehicles skidding on black ice.

“Areas affected included the M1, the M62, the M606 and the A1.

“There were no reports of serious injuries, but the collisions resulted in various closures on the motorways.”

Schools shut by the problems included Birdsedge First School, Birstall Community Primary School, Castle Hill School, Cowlersley Primary School, Fixby Junior & Infant School, Flockton Church Of England First School, Gomersal Primary School, Grange Moor Primary School, Headlands Junior, Infant & Nursery School, Dewsbury, Helme Junior & Infant School, Highburton First School, Honley High School, Lepton Junior, Infant & Nursery School, Nortonthorpe Hall School at Scissett, Scissett Middle School and Thurstonland First School.

CASUALTY staff treated a record number of people in a return to the “ice age”.

Staff at Huddersfield Royal Infirmary and Calderdale Royal Hospital in Halifax were swamped with more than 700 casualties of the frozen paths and pavements.

Off-duty staff were drafted in to help cope and hospital bosses praised them all for their efforts.

The two A & E departments treated 700 patients. Previously the highest in a single day had been around 500 patients.

Both departments were extremely busy throughout the day, caring for people who had suffered heavy falls in the treacherous conditions.

Off-duty nurses were called into A&E and staff were drafted in to the unit from other wards and departments across the trust.

District nurses were working into the night to support people following discharge from A&E.

Estimated figures show staff at both A&Es together treated up to 700 patients.

The Infirmary unit had more than 400, compared to the previous high of 250 in a day.

Injuries included fractures to wrists and ankles, and bangs to head and back injuries.

Mark Davies, clinical head of A&E, said: “Our staff pulled out all the stops to care for patients who unfortunately became victims of the overnight icy grip.

“Many of our patients yesterday sustained injuries because their legs went completely from under them.

“I have been here six years and have never known anything like it.

“It was simply treacherous and we saw patients of all ages. I am proud of the way the whole trust rallied to help staff in both our A&Es who were under incredible pressure from dawn right through the day.

“We would also like to thank our patients for their patience during yesterday.”

A&E consultant Andy Lockey, at Calderdale Royal Hospital, said: “The majority have been wrist and ankle fractures – several very serious ones – along with many, many slips and sprains.”

Deputy director of nursing Jackie Murphy said all staff including non-medical staff had rallied to care for patients.

“We had catering staff delivering drinks and sandwiches to waiting patients and non-clinical staff came up to A&E to help with the phones.

“It was a brilliant all-round effort.”