Kendal team members at work during the rescue operation. Photo: Kendal MRT

Mountain rescuers were called out to help motorists and residents in Cumbria as blizzards swept the West of the county.

Drifts up to 6m (20ft) deep were reported as winds up to 70mph whipped up snow on the main coastal road yesterday, stranding drivers for up to eight hours.

Cockermouth Mountain Rescue Team joined colleagues from Wasdale, Duddon and Furness, Kendal and Coniston, as well as members of the Bay Search and Rescue Team, in the operation to find and evacuate dozens of vehicle occupants trapped on the A595 near Waberthwaite.

The road is the main low-level route north from Furness to Sellafield and Whitehaven.

The Cockermouth team also helped take a patient home from hospital today and helped the occupant of a van stuck near Ireby.

And today, the Duddon and Furness team helped rescue a group of schoolchildren who were trapped at Hinning House outdoor centre in the Duddon Valley.

Tractors with snowploughs cleared a way for the team’s vehicles to reach the remote building, which is run by the Brathay Trust on behalf of Wigan Council.

Three teachers were with the 24 children from Leigh in Greater Manchester.

The centre’s assistant head Bill Taylor walked 5km (3 miles) to Seathwaite to raise the alarm after the Hinning House phone lines were brought down by heavy snow.

Police in the county were today still advising people not to use roads in the South and West of Cumbria unless absolutely necessary.

A Cumbria Constabulary spokesperson said: “Police, Highways, fire services, mountain rescue, Bay Search and Rescue and other agencies are still working hard to attend reported incidents and are battling to clear the snow from the county’s roads.

“Some areas of the county are still being subjected to severe winds and as roads are being cleared, they are being blocked again by drifting snow.

“This means that many of the counties roads remain closed and are likely to remain closed overnight.”

Police said the A595 remained closed between Holmbrook and Millom as was the main A591 road between Ambleside and Keswick which was blocked at Thirlmere. The A66 trans-Pennine route was also blocked at Stainmore, as was the Kirkstone Pass.

The A6 was also closed between Shap and Kendal, though the M6 remained passable with care, along with the section of the A6 north of Shap, the A590 between Barrow and the M6 and other sections of the A595.