Seven trapped in pub for 8 days....

The ultimate lock-in: Seven trapped in Yorkshire pub for last EIGHT days as forecasters warn Big Freeze will go on for at least another week

By DAILY MAIL REPORTER
Last updated at 7:09 PM on 4th December 2010

Snow death toll up to seven, after two men killed in motorway crash

• Temperatures rise but ice and snow warnings remain
• Host of sporting fixtures called off in England, Scotland and Wales
• Government urges Britons not to panic buy
• Cash machines running out of money as snows hamper delivery vans
• Limits on truckers' working hours relaxed to help transport of vital supplies 
• Rail networks still facing delays

While thousands braved the cold to begin their Christmas shopping, seven people in North Yorkshire are praying for better weather after being snowed into a pub for eight days and counting. 

Heavy snow showers and strong winds have left the group stuck in the Lion Inn pub in Blakey Ridge, Kirkbymoorside since last Friday, with little chance of an escape.

Drifts of up to 16ft blocked the inn's doors and windows, with the surrounding roads impassable, and to make matters worse, the stranded seven's cars are buried under nine foot of snow.

Enlarge 

Snowed inn: The Lion Inn pub in Blakey Ridge, North Yorkshire, where seven people have been trapped for eight days

The group's predicament in the fourth highest pub in England continues as forecasters warned Britons to expect icy conditions for at least another week, with temperatures falling as low as -10C in the South East of England overnight.

Katie Underwood, 18, who has been a waitress at the Lion Inn for four years, said: 'It was really novel at first, and quite exciting.                         

'The snow is immense. Most of the windows in here are blocked up, but we've got a door open at the back to get some air when we need to.'

Enlarge 

Blocked: A window at the Lion Inn pub is barely visible after huge snow drifts

She added: 'The boys that are here have been skiing on trays down the massive slopes, and we've made snow angels but the novelty is definitely starting to wear off.'

WEEKEND FORECAST 

SATURDAY EVENING

Snow showers or long spells of snow pushing southwards across Scotland

Night-time lows of -7C in Tayside and Fife and highs of 8C in Dover

SUNDAY

Many areas dry and bright with snow showers continuing further north. Very cold, frosty and icy.

Daytime lows of -5C in Perth, highs of 8C in Newquay

Night-time lows of -8C in Tayside and Fife, with highs of 1C in Wick

MONDAY

Snow and coastal rain pushing into northern England and Wales

Bitterly cold, temperatures to hover around freezing

'Now they're all out trying to dig their cars out of the deep snow. It's been absolutely freezing, but we've been lucky that it's a pub and B&B we're trapped in.'

As the seven people stuck in the Lion Inn hope for improved conditions, England and Wales are predicted to have some respite from the snow today as rain showers move in bringing temperatures up to 7C in some areas.

But that will not be enough to melt the ice which is expected to be worsened by rain freezing on top.

In England, severe warnings of widespread icy roads remain in London and the South East, the South West, the East the East and West Midlands and the North West where there are also warnings of heavy snow.

The Met Office also issued ice and snow warnings in Wales and Northern Ireland and in the North and North West of Scotland. Temperatures fell to around -10C in Charlwood, in the South East of England last night.

The snows have also prevented security vans tasked with delivery notes to cash machines from completing their deliveries across the country.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1335602/UK-snow-Seven-trapped-Yorkshire-pub-days-Big-Freeze-set-week.html#ixzz17BWNFOAi