Holidaymakers trapped for four days during Cumbria snow

Jason Gaffney has finally returned to Newcastle with his partner, his mother and his dog after being stuck in a cottage on the Corney Fell road from Saturday to Tuesday (December 2-5). 

Jason considered walking six miles in the freezing conditions down the road to Foxfield to get food, but he was concerned about his mother who has heart problems. They were eventually helped out by kindly neighbours. 

"We arrived on Friday and then obviously it started to snow. It got worse and worse. By the Friday night it was really deep so I couldn't move, I couldn't get my car out so we were pretty much snowed in," Jason said.

The extent of the snow that had built up against the window (Image: Submitted)

The Met Office updated the weather warning from yellow to amber for snow early Saturday afternoon. 

He tried to call the council but he was told that the area he was in was too remote for the snow to be cleared and that he would have to call the emergency services if there was a serious issue. 

The area was so rural that Jason said there was 'no-one there' apart from them and some farmers. 

Jason said that there was 'no-one there' in the Duddon Valley (Image: Submitted)

They realised that calling 999 would mean a helicopter, which the family did not want to happen. Luckily, the neighbours were able to provide food. 

"We thought all the electrics were going to go out. We were thinking with the weather it wasn't getting better if we had run out of food we would have had to walk it." 

The night before Tuesday, a farmer managed to get out and put some grit down on the road. Jason left the cottage and started shovelling. The temperature warmed slightly and the sun melted some of the snow and ice. The family were then able to leave the area and make it home. 

On Saturday, people were stranded overnight in provisional shelter or trapped in their cars after heavy snow blanketed most areas of south Cumbria. 

Cumbria Police declared the situation a major incident and asked residents not to travel unless necessary.