A BLAST of wintery winter stoked the fires of community spirit in Torfaen after the borough was buried in heavy drifts of snow.

Between four and seven inches of snow fell in the north of borough, making many of the roads impassable and forcing motorists to ditch their cars.

Two schools - Abersychan School and West Monmouth School – will remain closed on Wednesday and Torfaen council will be offering extra refuse collections for those missed earlier in the week.

Around 1,400 tonnes of grit has been applied to the road network in Torfaen, to allow members of the public to go about their daily business.

However, in some areas of the borough, the community has rallied to ensure that people were not caught cold by the snow storms.

In Blaenavon, which saw the heaviest of the drifts in Torfaen, a construction company came to the rescue to help with the snow clearance.

Cllr Alan Jones, of Blaenavon ward, contacted construction company IJ Caddick, who had previously helped on several occasions over the decades.

The company, which was founded in 1945, returned again with a JCB providing access to certain areas of the town – including the resource centre.

The councillor said the business did “exactly what their grandfather and father did for Blaenavon in the huge snowfalls of 1963 & 1982”.

“Illtyd & Richard Caddick are a real credit to our community,” he added.

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Cllr Dave Daniels, of Pontnewydd ward, said: “It’s been really heartening, seeing community spirit take over as people give up their time to help others who may be more affected by the heavy snow we’ve seen.

“Neighbours have been checking in on each other, offering to buy essentials whilst out shopping themselves, pitching in and clearing snow for elderly and disabled neighbours.”

“It’s been wonderful to see. Well done, Torfaen.”

Cllr Giles Davies, of Abersychan ward, credited the “positive” response from the community following heavy snowfall and has also ran errands for neighbours himself, including topping up a gas meter.

“It has been brilliant seeing neighbours helping out in the area digging out paths and clearing them,” he said.

Rachel Jowitt, chief officer for neighbourhoods, planning and public protection, said: “Our crews have been working around the clock since last week.

“Anything with a plough that can help move snow has been drafted in to help keep Torfaen moving.

“These are exceptional circumstances with the whole borough being affected which means our resources are spread across the whole of Torfaen.

“Our priorities remain all A and B roads, high risk areas and important access routes.

“We aim to clear side streets as and when we can, but we can only do this if and when resources allow, and they will be done on the basis of priority, with the higher up, steeper areas of the borough prioritised over lower and flatter areas.

“We have suspended the majority of waste collections over the last few days, so please keep an eye on the council’s Facebook page and the council website for service updates.”

Cllr Fiona Cross, executive member for the environment, said: “Our crews have been doing a fantastic job, working flat out over the last four days and the countryside team are supporting Meals on Wheels with deliveries and personal care staff to reach clients.

“ It has been all hands on deck and I would like to say thank you to all council staff for their hard work.

“I appreciate that this is a difficult time for some residents, especially those who live in side streets which haven’t had their areas gritted, but please understand that we are doing all we can in very difficult conditions.

“We have seen some fantastic community spirit across Torfaen, with residents and local businesses coming together to dig each other out and clear their streets.

“With conditions difficult under foot, I would urge residents to check on elderly or vulnerable neighbours to see if they need assistance or just a friendly face to talk to.”