Chilly ... cars stuck in High Wycombe
He should be putting the problems of people in Britain's communities first and head home to help resolve the crisis."
On hols ... Lord Adonis
A Department for Transport spokesman said: "Andrew Adonis is monitoring the impact of bad weather on transport extremely closely while on a short family break over Christmas."
But outraged motorists, train passengers and people hoping to fly abroad for the festive period lashed out at flimsy measures that had failed to keep routes open.
Eurostar passengers who suffered a nightmare stuck in France after trains broke down because the snow was TOO FLUFFY were finally brought home yesterday.
The firm said the backlog of cross-Channel trips was cleared after three days without any services - but carriages were virtually empty.
Many passengers had made alternative travel arrangements. One amazed passenger sent The Sun a photo of an empty carriage.
Drivers throughout the country criticised the lack of gritters. Council chiefs claimed problems arose because they had the WRONG type of grit.
Other authorities said salt on the streets had been washed away by sleet.
And some said the gritters were getting stuck in traffic - caused by the lack of gritting.
Jim Stevens, head of transport for Buckinghamshire, said the sort of grit it was using was useless because roads were too cold.
In Basingstoke, Hants, 2,000 drivers were left stranded on jammed roads after four inches of snow fell in just two hours.
The county's roads boss, Mel Kendal, said: "Salt was being continuously diluted."
At 10.10pm last night a coach overturned in Townshend Hayle, Cornwall, leaving 48 people injured, one seriously.
And in Reading, Berks, many motorists were trapped for several hours. Many abandoned their cars and 100 people were given refuge for the night.
Roads in High Wycombe,Bucks, looked like car parks as vehicles were ditched.
The council admitted it had been caught off guard by renewed snowfall on Monday night and gritters became caught in the congestion.
Beleaguered Minister Mr Khan claimed there was no shortage of grit for the nation but said he would investigate the difficulties in Reading and Basingstoke.
After the AA's busiest day for ten years on Monday, it had its most hectic period for breakdowns in 25 years yesterday, with 15,000 calls in 17 hours.
A spokesman warned that roads were likely to be busy today, with people setting off after delaying Christmas departures.
A driver in Reigate, Surrey, thought he had the answer when he got stuck in snow. He ordered a taxi - but when the cab arrived it slid into his car.
Some gritting was left to farmers and residents in Kent.
In Winchester, Hants, motorists who abandoned their cars had to pay later to get them unclamped.
Heavy snow forced Manchester cathedral to cancel its service of nine lessons and carols service for the first time. And drifts swept across Rochdale, Oldham and Stockport.
Temperatures barely got above zero as blizzards moved east over the Pennines.
The danger of huge ice sheets falling from the Severn Bridges, shut both and massive queues built up north of Bristol and in Chepstow, South Wales.
Airports also remained severely disrupted, particularly at Luton, Gatwick, Heathrow, Glasgow and Edinburgh.
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