30 years on: The 1995 snowstorm that brought chaos to Calderdale and killed stranded drivers

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Thirty years ago Calderdale was hit by a sudden snowstorm that caused chaos across the borough.

At rush hour on January 25, 1995, a period of extremely heavy snowfall suddenly hit Northern England.

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The snow had initially been forecast to hit much later and caught residents off guard.

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Snow in CalderdaleSnow in Calderdale
Snow in Calderdale

Halifax town centre, along with many parts of Yorkshire, saw traffic gridlocked with drivers in areas forced to spend the night in city centre buildings as it became impossible to travel home.

On that night more than 200 people spent the night in Halifax Town Hall, a paramedic had to be taken by tractor to treat a patient in Halifax and a school party from Cheshire had to spend the night in Eureka.

More than 5,000 drivers were stranded on the M62 after snow brought the motorway to a standstill.

Six drivers died while trying to make their way home on foot after abandoning their cars.

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Gordon Smith, 60, of Ovenden died after abandoning his car in Halifax and Glynn Metcalfe, 50, collapsed and died after helping to free cars trapped on Haley Hill.

John Akam, 64, had nearly reached his house in Rawdon, Leeds, when he collapsed.

Another man was found dead near his abandoned car at Gildersome Interchange, while two more people died at Pinderfields Hospital after suffering heart attacks while trying to make their way home.

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