HEAVY snow and strong winds caused more travel chaos yesterday as forecasters gave the welcome news that the end of the cold snap was in sight.

Dozens of road crashes across the country were caused by the icy conditions and airports were forced to divert flights as runways became blanketed in snow.

By contrast, Huddersfield escaped the last Arctic blast of the year.

But in blizzard-hit East Yorkshire, more than 200 cars were left stranded when strong winds caused 3ft snow drifts.

And in North Lanarkshire in Scotland, an 84-year-old man died in a six-car pile-up in freezing conditions.

Planes in and out of Newcastle International Airport were affected by snow. Two services to Dublin and Belfast were cancelled this morning, while six domestic and international flights were delayed.