Workers battle snow to ensure business as usual

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AN army of workers ploughed through the snow to make sure newspapers were delivered, letters were sent and the elderly had hot meals.

The recent wintry weather may have forced schools to shut, roads to close and buses to be cancelled, but thousands of ordinary people soldiered on make sure life in the county did not grind to a complete halt.

On Thursday, as snow blanketed the region causing considerable chaos, teams of volunteers from WRVS managed to deliver Meals on Wheels to 641 Worcestershire homes.

The 48 people who they could not reach, many in rural areas, were not abandoned. Volunteers phoned each one, then called next-of-kin to ensure everyone would get a hot meal.

A spokesman for WRVS said volunteers went the extra mile, in some cases literally, to keep the vital service running.

“Volunteers came in with their 4x4s to make sure we could reach homes in more rural areas such as in Upton-upon-Severn and around Malvern.

“For many people who could not leave their homes because of the bad weather we were their lifeline for the day.”

It was a tough day too for Worcestershire postal workers who faced a daunting task delivering items to some rural, cut-off area.

Milkmen were also still out in force making sure customers received their goods, despite the weather.

It was business as usual for Dairycrest, whose staff delivered milk to 25,000 doorsteps.

Elsewhere, youngsters showed their commitment to the cause.

As the snow prompted hundreds schools to close –giving thousands of children days off – all but one of the 100 Worcester News paper delivery boys and girls managed to complete their rounds.

Julie Bolton, of your Worcester News’ newspaper sales department, said: “We’re really pleased with them.

“None of them called in to moan or complain. They just did a great job.”

A spokesman for Royal Mail said that, while the staff could not reach every area, they all did an amazing job to keep things going.

He said: “There may have been isolated spots where we couldn’t deliver due to localised weather and road conditions. But we all know most postal workers go out on a limb to get mail out.

“The one thing we have been telling staff is not to take chances or put lives in danger.

“We’ve said to them if an area is impassable, then it is not worth the risk.”

Worcester-based job agency Hewitt Recruitment was equally impressed with the temporary staff who turned up for work – in some cases when permanent staff had not.

Manager Ali Common said she was very pleased with the way her team reacted.

She said: “Having called all of our clients across the region to check that our temps had safely got in to work, we were delighted with the commitment and dedication our workers had shown both to us and our clients despite the snowy conditions.

“We would like to say a big thank you to all of them.”