Weather in brief: Festive freeze delights skaters on the Fens

Skaters have been flocking to the Fenlands of East Anglia after the cold snap provided a rare opportunity to enjoy the sport over the festive season. It is the first time in nearly 20 years that flooded fields around the Wash in Cambridgeshire, Norfolk and Lincolnshire have frozen over at Christmas – and only the fourth time in half a century.

Steam takes the strain when electricity can't

A classic steam engine rescued stranded commuters when modern trains failed to make it though the snow. The Tornado, a £3m replica of the 1940s Peppercorn class A1 steam locomotive Pacific, dropped off more than 100 travellers on the route from London Victoria to Dover after their electric-powered services were affected by the big freeze.

Unconscious girl, 13, rescued from park

A drunken girl of 13 had to be rescued from a climbing frame in freezing conditions. The girl became stuck on the crow's nest at the top of the frame and got so cold that she passed out. Passers-by called the fire brigade and paramedics.

The teenager was taken to hospital suffering from hypothermia following the incident at a park in Horsham, West Sussex.

Cabbie battles through snow to deliver blood

A hospital said a huge thank you to a taxi driver who battled through blizzards to deliver vital blood to treat cancer patients. Somalian-born Abdirashid Issa ended up walking three miles through the snow and ice to deliver blood to a hospital in Basingstoke after his taxi got stuck. "If someone needed it I had to make sacrifices because they might be dying," he said.