IT WAS the winter story as usual as Britain was lashed by gales gusting up to 80mph and snowstorms last week, bringing chaos to many roads.

A 45-year-old lorry driver lost his life in the storm when his HGV was hurled on to its side and thrown onto the central reservation of a motorway, left.

The driver was declared dead at the scene on the M6 in Tebay, Cumbria.

In China the winter chaos ranged even wider with thousands of travellers left stranded or delayed by heavy sleet and snow storms across central, eastern and southern areas of the country.

In the worst winter China has seen in 50 years huge crowds gathered at railway stations in a bid to get home and 64 people were killed as cuts to electric power created havoc and rail and roads.
In the picture, right, a sick passenger is rescued by police from amid milling throngs inside Guangzhou railway station.

The bad weather has also strangled distribution of coal, which is the source of three-quarters of China’s energy, the Government has said.