SUFFOLK: This was not supposed to be a weather report. It was supposed to be a review of the first night of the Co-op Juniors at Snape Maltings - but the journey was simply impossible.

SUFFOLK: This was not supposed to be a weather report. It was supposed to be a review of the first night of the Co-op Juniors at Snape Maltings - but the journey was simply impossible.

Last night's heavy snow showers made the roads totally impassable once you got outside Ipswich.

The Juniors always manage to create a Winter Wonderland on the stage at Snape Maltings, but the snow brought a white hell to the A12 for drivers heading north.

The gritters were out, but the snow was falling faster than the grit could take effect.The A1214 through Kesgrave and Martlesham was getting increasingly slippery.

Once we arrived at the A12 Martlesham by-pass the road became even worse. Only one of the two lanes was pass-able - but I did soldier on past the Seckford roundabout heading up towards Woodbridge.

But this section of the road was even worse than the previous stretch. My Vectra will be three years old in April so it is hardly and old crock and I learned to drive during a harsh winter and feel I know how to drive on compacted snow.

There was no way I was prepared to continue any further - I turned around at the next roundabout. My car - along with many other vehicles - was sliding all around the roundabout.

The gritters had been out, but it was snowing so heavily the grit was unable to work.

The journey back to Ipswich from Woodbridge took another 40 minutes. We did much of the journey at 10mph but we kept moving.

I came into the office and checked with the Juniors. The show had gone ahead but to a much smaller audience than they had planned for - and some of the performers had been unable to get through.

This morning I heard that a coach party that went to the show from Needham Market were unable to get home until 3.30am - and some of the group had to spend the rest of the night at the offices of travel company Angus.

I managed to get home by 9pm and was delighted to put my feet up with a nice warming glass of South African red!

Others were not so lucky - one office party in Ipswich ended early at 10pm but some of the diners did not get home to Manningtree until 1am.

And motorists were trapped on the A12 south of Ipswich all night.

We only get snow like this about once every 20 years - but when it comes it certainly causes massive problems.