Major incident declared by ambulance service

And after a fortnight of intense activity at St Peter's Hospital in Chertsey, with ice and cold-related injuries and illnesses, staff are under pressure.

Vanessa Avlontis , the trust's deputy chief nurse, said: "We are experiencing unprecedented high levels of activity in A&E and this is putting increasing pressure on our services.

"I would like the public to think twice about whether a visit to A&E is really necessary."

Anyone who needs medical advice is asked to call NHS Direct on 0845 46 47.

Surrey County Council has been trying to keep as many roads open as possible, but with a national shortage of salt and grit, has already used up nearly all of its stockpile, with more on order.

Gritters were out on A roads and routes to A&E to make sure they are passable, but other, smaller roads will have to wait for now.

Ian Lake, executive member for transport at the council, said: "We have done our grade one roads, but we are down to our last 2,800 tonnes.

"We have more on order, but I'm not sure when it will arrive. We just thought, having learned our lessons from the bad weather last February, that we ought to get some more in.

"I can't guarantee that we won't run out of salt, but hopefully we have done enough to make sure we don't."

The council has spent about £200,000 on grit so far this winter, and if the bad weather continues, the cost will only rise.