RUSH-hour chaos on the roads, school closures and public transport delays were forced by the winter’s first heavy snowstorms.

One of the worst-affected areas was Oswaldtwistle, where West End Primary School and White Ash Special School were shut on Tuesday due to the weather.

Also closed were Mount Carmel RC Science College in Accrington, Copperhouse Children’s Centre in Rishton amd Green Haworth Primary School as 50 Lancashire schools fell victim to the snow.

Traffic police reported several minor accidents and slow-moving traffic throughout the Hyndburn area in the morning, before further snow showers struck at lunchtime.

Over 20 road traffic incidents had been reported in the Eastern Division following the worst of the flurries in the early hours of the morning, the majority causing damage only.

The bad weather also caused up to 30-minute delays on some Northern Rail services between Accrington and Manchester, compounding long hold-ups caused by signal failures at Hebden Bridge and in the Blackburn area.

A female driver escaped with a cut wrist after her Nissan Micra landed on its roof in a field in Whalley Road, Great Harwood, at around 3.15am.

A green Citroen skidded into a wall near the Black Dog pub at New Lane, Oswaldtwistle, at 6.05am with no reported injuries and a woman driver was taken to hospital for a check-up after a collision near Accrington Golf Club on Blackburn Road, Oswaldtwistle at 7.50am.

Sgt Pete Sculpher from the Road Policing Unit said: “Thankfully none of the incidents are very serious at the moment. We have been busier than normal but we would expect that after a morning like this.

" My concern is more when people come out on a cold morning when there is no snow about and drive normally when there’s the possibility of black ice.”