UK snow set to disrupt weekend sport

Snow and freezing temperatures prevented many Football League games going ahead last weekend and already 10 matches have been called off ahead of Saturday. The lower leagues are in danger of another white-out.

Four games in League One are off with MK Dons-Bury, Brentford-Oldham, Stevenage-Carlisle and Walsall-Colchester already postponed.

Five League Two games will also have to be played at a later date with Accrington-Oxford, Barnet-Swindon, Macclesfield-Plymouth, Port Vale-Crewe and AFC Wimbledon-Bradford off.

So far only Crystal Palace’s home game with Doncaster has fallen foul of conditions in the npower Championship – due to frozen patches on the Selhurst Park pitch.

The opening round of rugby league’s Northern Rail Cup is also set to be affected on Sunday.

Photo gallery: Your pictures of freezing Britain

London Skolars’ home game against Toulouse has been called off because of snow and Swinton’s tie at York has been postponed due to the bad weather and pitch conditions.

The surface at the Huntington Stadium is covered by four inches of snow and, with temperatures not set to get much above freezing until Sunday, the City Knights say there is no chance of the pitch being playable in time.

There were also three postponements in rugby union’s National League One. The race meetings at Newbury, Uttoxeter and Warwick have also fallen victim to conditions.

Officials at Newbury are in discussions with the British Horseracing Authority in an attempt to save the major races from Saturday’s abandoned meeting.

The Scottish circuit is frost-free and no problems are anticipated.

The picture is less positive at Hereford, who will check conditions at 11.30am on Saturday ahead of their scheduled Sunday card.

The Met Office has urged drivers to take extra care in icy conditions. Severe weather warnings remain in place across the UK and wintry conditions are set to continue in the coming days, with temperatures likely to plummet to as low as -9C.

A spokesman told Channel 4 News: “Certainly there’s potential for snow falling, and there’s an ice risk on the roads. People should be prepared for bad conditions and some travel disruption.

“The usual advice is for people to drive according to the conditions and to take extra precautions if they head out, in case they get delayed or stuck.

“Take some extra layers, and food and water, in case of delay. And make sure the mobile phone battery is charged up.”

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