SUPERMARKET workers have described scenes of “absolute madness” as shoppers went on a panic buying frenzy after this week’s big freeze.

After days of bad weather, shops were yesterday beginning to re-stock shelves and Glasgow was returning to partial normality – though many people were still battling against snow and ice.

Motorists faced a third day of travel disruption despite continual efforts to clear the roads. And, while the weather warning was downgraded from red and amber to yellow throughout much of the country, parts of Glasgow still faced up to 8ft snow drifts.

READ MORE: Work to get Scotland moving again after extreme weather underway as warnings remain

As many shops heeded warnings and closed early, panicked customers emptied shelves of essentials.

One worker at Tesco’s Cathcart store described scenes as “absolute madness”, and told the Evening Times yesterday: “You had loads of people buying four loaves of bread and 10 pints of milk, then on the other hand you had customers coming in at the last minute and complaining there was nothing left – though if they had come earlier they would’ve cleared the shelves as well.

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“We’re open seven days a week – there is no need to panic.”

With the usual supply chains frozen out by the weather, many stores were still struggling to get stocks back to normal. Bosses at Tesco said their focus was on plugging any gaps in supplies.

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Public transport began running a stripped-down service yesterday, though ScotRail services remained closed throughout the day.

Those travelling to and from Glasgow Airport were told to expect delays and cancellations following what bosses described as “the worst snowfall in their history”.

Prestwick Airport was the only hub to remain completely operational all week.

As well as helping thousands of passengers on scheduled services, the airport also played a vital role in handling 16 diverted flights and 2,760 displaced travellers – some from as far afield as Dubai.

A Met Office spokesman said that they would still not recommend travelling as snowfall eased up.  

He added: “But if you are heading out it’s definitely worth making sure you’ve got enough with you so that you can survive a long journey. 

“Prepare for it to take three times longer than what you might normally expect, so make sure you have blankets, extra food, extra water and plenty of fuel.” 

Glasgow Times:

University and college campuses across the city also remained closed to students and staff. Classes, lectures and tutorials at the University of Glasgow were cancelled, although members of staff were asked to attend work if it was safe to do so.

Many local authorities said they expected schools and nurseries to be open as normal on Monday.

A spokesperson added: “As things stand, we expect schools and nurseries to reopen on Monday morning. However, that is still quite far away and we can’t be absolutely certain what the weather will bring over the weekend, so we will update on Sunday – and again on Monday morning, if necessary.

“Our focus has been to clear the snow from residential roads and we will continue to do so over the weekend. All main roads are running clear with exception of Balmore Road which is currently closed.  

“City centre footways were treated with pathways ploughed and gritted. Many areas with accumulations continue to be treated and we’ll be back out in city centre from 5.30am today.

“Our crews were back out gritting priority carriageway routes due to black ice forecast on Friday night.

“Elsewhere, resources continue to clear pathways in residential areas and our focus over the weekend is to make all carriageway routes passable and clear priority footway routes.”

Glasgow City Council previously informed residents that refuse collection services would be disrupted.

Workers are set to work “flat out” to get all collections back on schedule as soon as possible.

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Many residents were left for weeks without their bins being collected following an earlier bout of snow in January.

Meanwhile, the weather brought bad news for one Scottish charity, which estimated it had lost tens of thousands of pounds of donations due to the snow.

Marie Curie launched its Great Daffodil Appeal on Thursday, which usually sees thousands of people across Scotland taking in donations.

However, heavy snowfall and freezing temperatures have forced the cancellation of 58 collections – believed to have been worth about £25,000.

Paul Thompson, head of community fundraising for Scotland, said: “We’re really excited to be kicking off this year’s appeal but the extreme weather is proving a challenge.

“Our hospice and nursing staff are going to great lengths to keep care and support going for terminally ill people but we are worried that we need to keep donations coming in too.

“We want people to know that they can also donate online and via text. The money raised is vitally important to ensuring that as many people as possible can receive our nursing care.

“I know that our amazing volunteer collectors always go the extra mile for us, so I would also ask that they keep themselves safe and warm if there are extreme conditions where they are.”