A 20-MINUTE snow burst today caused traffic chaos around Suffolk as dozens of vehicles were forced off the road.The A14 near Claydon was completely blocked in both directions when three lorries jack-knifed on the Ipswich-bound carriageway at 10.

A 20-MINUTE snow burst today caused traffic chaos around Suffolk as dozens of vehicles were forced off the road.

The A14 near Claydon was completely blocked in both directions when three lorries jack-knifed on the Ipswich-bound carriageway at 10.50am.

The same road was partially blocked on the Orwell Bridge and police were inundated with reports of vehicles skidding in ditches in rural areas.

Problems started around 9.30am when the predicted snowfall took its grip on the county.

The first indication of what was to come occurred when a car skidded into the central reservation at Bramford at around 9.30am. The female driver was uninjured but described as shaken.

Shortly afterwards, a vehicle spun on the road and partially blocked the Ipswich-bound carriageway of the A14 at Stowmarket.

A vehicle obstructed the Orwell Bridge when it lost traction and hit the central reservation.

Police were then called to deal with three vehicles that had collided on the A14 at Claydon and were facing the wrong way, with one of them on the embankment.

A lorry then skidded and hit the central barrier of the Ipswich-bound carriageway near the Asda turn-off, blocking the road around 9.44am.

Evening Star reporter Mark Bulstrode was travelling on the A14 into Ipswich when he came to a grinding halt at Claydon.

He said: "The traffic had come to a standstill. We didn't move an inch for half an hour."

Suffolk police spokeswoman Lisa Miller said: "Due to the amount of snow that fell in a short period of time, Suffolk police had numerous reports of vehicles that skidded and collided, especially on the main roads around Ipswich."