Berkshire schools reopen for exam students

Residents have been urged to check on elderly or vulnerable neighbours Schools information: Berkshire

Secondary schools in Berkshire reopened on Monday to students sitting exams, as the freezing weather continued.

Councils and staff at some schools worked throughout the weekend to clear snow to ensure students could sit their GCSE, AS and A-level exams.

Police are continuing to warn motorists to take care while driving, as ice continues to cause problems on some untreated roads.

For updates on all school closures visit bbc.co.uk/berkshire.

The Royal Mail said some deliveries "were severely disrupted".

It said: "Our postmen and women are working hard to keep the mail moving and are making deliveries to the majority of addresses."

'Cashing in'

Meanwhile, Bracknell Forest Council said that throughout the period of sub-zero temperatures a specialist team had met twice a day to allocate resources.

It added that it had received reports of people "cashing in" and taking grit from council salt bins and then selling it as part of a drive-clearance service.

It urged residents to contact police if they were approached by people trying to sell grit to them.

Refuse collections in the borough remain suspended.

However refuse lorries were back out on the streets of Reading earlier, collecting a backlog of waste from bins.

Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead council said its fortnightly green waste collections remained suspended because vehicles were working to catch up with the normal waste collection.

A spokesman for Wokingham Borough Council said more than 30 members of staff from its highways alliance had been working around the clock to keep the borough's roads as safe and passable as possible.

And West Berkshire Council has appealed for residents to check on elderly or vulnerable neighbours during the cold snap.