A few inches of snow brought Croydon to a standstill last night as roads froze over and motorists struggled with the icy conditions.

Roads are clear this morning with no major problems being reported but last night many struggled to get home after heavy snow storms across the South East.

Crystal Palace was the worst hit with many forced to abandon their cars and either sleep in hotel rooms or walk home.

On the virtual Norwood forum one user wrote: “ I just walked down from CP station to Orchard Grove. It may take several days to remove the tension from my body. Almost slipped over 5 times, and I was walking very slowly and wearing boots with a thick grip! There's no sign of grit anywhere.

“It looked like a lot of people were sliding back down the hill in their cars. Not good. There was no grit around the station either.”

Motorists reported abandoning their cars on Anerley Hill and South Norwood Hill.

Traffic in central Croydon was moving at a snail’s pace with cars creeping along the Purley Way and the Croydon Flyover.

One driver said: “It took me over four and a half hours to get home from Sutton, cars were crawling along.”

Traffic on Brighton Road was also barely moving.

Journalist Tamasin Coates, 55, found herself caught up in a massive snarl up along Croydon Lane, Banstead, as she drove home to Coulsdon from her office in North Cheam.

She said: “The journey which should only take a maximum of 40 minutes in the rush hour took me five hours,.

“I left the office when I first saw it start snowing around 4pm thinking I would try to beat the snow. The traffic along the A217 wasn’t too bad but once I turned into Croydon Lane at the traffic lights everything ground to a halt. It was only after I had been sitting there for three hours, crawling along a few yards at a time, that I wondered if it might have been quicker to turn around, go back to Cheam and then try to get through Sutton. The traffic news on the BBC said roads into Croydon were gridlocked and that Junction 8 of the M25 was closed. I realised that all the cars trying to get along the same stretch of road were probably coming off the motorway.

“I saw several cars abandoned at the side of the road. It seemed ridiculous because there wasn’t that much snow – although there was black ice on the opposite side of the carriageway.

“It was definitely the worst commute I have ever had but I am just thankful I made it home in the end.

“By comparison the journey into work this morning took just 30 minutes.”

Alexis Thompson said: "It took me five hours to travel back to South Norwood last night. I left my office in North Cheam at 4.30pm, an hour early because of the snow and I arrived home about 9.30pm.

"The roads were solid and we were crawling at a snails pace. At Lombard roundabout I was stuck for about an hour and a half not moving at all. I switched my engine off to conserve fuel and because I drive an old car I was worried about it over heating, but with the freezing temperatures it was getting really cold and I could barely feel my hands and feet.

"People were beeping and some were winding down their windows and yelling things at each other, but I couldn't see the point in getting frustrated as there was nothing anyone could do but sit there and wait.

"It was a nightmare journey and I just can't believe that a couple of inches of snow brought Croydon to a halt for hours and hours."

An update from Croydon Council at 7.15pm last night reported that gritters had been on the roads all day.

It said: “The snow has arrived with a vengeance, the intensity has seen all roads and footpaths covered in snow in a very short period of time. The rain earlier today has hindered the gritting operations severely as it has caused a lot of wash off of salt. Crews are out gritting both roads and footpath again and will continue to do so for the foreseeable future.”

Keep checking this website for further updates.

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