Search: Britain snow chaos
Heavy snow overnight has left about 200 vehicles stranded on a main road as schools, roads and railways faced further disruption from the latest bout of wintry weather.
A major rescue operation was under way in Devon after up to 1ft of snow fell on the A38 and the A380 near Exeter, and on the A386 near Tavistock, leaving dozens of motorists trapped in freezing conditions.
Stranded drivers and passengers spent several hours in their cars while police officers in 4x4s battled through blizzard-style weather and snow drifts to reach them. The Army and a Dartmoor-based civilian rescue team were also involved.
What the emergency services described as a "major incident" came as forecasters warned the south of the country faced a fifth consecutive day of problems.
Snow headed south overnight with flurries in London, Hampshire, Berkshire and southern Oxfordshire - but the South West is likely to be the worst hit.
The week's winter weather has already forced the closure of thousands of schools and left travellers reeling from airport hold-ups and train and bus service delays.
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Matt Dobson, forecaster for MeteoGroup, the weather division of the Press Association, said: "The higher parts of east Cornwall and quite a bit of Devon could see the most snowfall, maybe up to eight inches, but it will extend up to Somerset, Wiltshire, Dorset, Bristol and south Gloucestershire."
He added that plunging temperatures would make Britain's roads even more dangerous by the weekend.
He said: "Cold air coming down from the north could make for very icy conditions particularly on untreated services."
The death toll of the week's wintry blast rose on Thursday as it emerged two walkers died after venturing out in icy conditions in the Lake District.
