Nordic countries in snow misery

Snowfall has extended across much of Europe

At least five people died and 100,000 homes suffered power cuts as snow storms swept across Sweden, Finland and Denmark.

Travel by air, sea, rail and road was also being severely disrupted by the blizzards.

Some major Swedish routes, including the road from Stockholm to Oslo, were blocked by jack-knifed lorries.

The heavy snow began to cause problems on Sunday night, bringing down power lines and causing dozens of accidents.

A young Swedish couple were found dead in their car in the south-west of the country, apparently after the vehicle slid off the road into a canal.

Power officials on Monday said they could not predict when all 100,000 Swedish households would get power supplies restored.

"It is very difficult to say when (the electricity) will be working again, but most households should have it back at some point during the day," said Christer Lundgren of supply firm Vattenfall.

As soon as the wind stops and the snow slows a bit we will be able to increase capacity Anni Silfver Civil aviation authority spokeswoman

Engineers had restored power to around a third of the homes by mid-afternoon.

At Stockholm's Arlanda airport, one of the two runways was closed and flights were being delayed by up to an hour.

"As soon as the wind stops and the snow slows a bit we will be able to increase capacity," civil aviation authority spokeswoman Anni Silfver told TT news agency.

Misery at sea

Ferry passengers in the Nordic countries also endured delays or the misery of being stranded aboard storm-tossed vessels.

Ferry passengers travelling from Gothenburg to Fredrikshavn in Denmark were forced to spend the night on board as high winds lashed the port.

Around 850 people also got stranded outside the Danish port of Hanstholm.

Passengers finally walked ashore on Monday.

In Finland, three people were reported dead in the most serious of a string of accidents.

Police said on Monday at least 100 crashes occurred during the blizzard, which left icy roads coated in snow.

All local trains were also halted in the capital, Helsinki.

Estonia hit

The severe weather also reached Estonia, forcing the cancellation of ferries across the Baltic Sea.

In the North Sea off the Netherlands, meanwhile, three containers of pesticide were lost overboard during a severe storm.

Dutch coastguard spokesman Peter van Oorschot said it was not known if the chemicals could leak into the sea.

In the UK, snow fell down much of the eastern side of Scotland and England, causing travel problems.