COMMUTERS in Glasgow and west central Scotland had to battle through more snow today as winter tightened its grip on Scotland.

Gritters and snow ploughs were needed across the area after more than 2in fell across Lanarkshire, Renfrewshire, Ayrshire and some parts of the city.

Conditions on the M8 were reported to be bad, with blizzard conditions at Harthill Services, Lanarkshire.

Two accidents on the motorway at junction 4 Whitburn were also causing serious problems.

On the roads into Glasgow, some drivers abandoned their cars around Switchback Road, Bearsden.

Snow also caused problems on the M77 Klimarnock-Glasgow route at Fenwick,Ayrshire.

The conditions on the M74 near Hamilton were described as hazardous.

The B775 Gleniffer Road, Paisley, was also hazardous between Sergeant Law Road junction and the Shilford Road junction.

North of Stirling, the A9 Auchertarder-Dunblane road in Perthshire had heavy snow.

Cumbernauld and East Kilbride were hit by about 3in of snow, with drivers facing problems in the hilly areas.

But on the M80 Falkirk-Glasgow route, which goes past Cumbernauld, the snow had stopped and had turned to light rain.

However, while commuters cursed the weather in ther Central Belt, the Highlands and North East remained cold and icy but without snow.

Two paramedics were injured after an ambulance came off the road in Riverview Drive, Dyce, around 3.40am today. The vehicle struck trees.

A 49-year-old male and a 51-year-old female were treated in hospital for injuries.

An 84-year-old female patient who was in the ambulance was taken to Aberdeen Royal Infirmary.

As festive revellers head into Glasgow tonight for what is always one of the pubs and clubs' busiest nights of the year, they were being warned of a risk of snow and ice.

Gemma Plumb, a forecaster with the Meteogroup, said: "Snow showers were predicted overnight, but seemed to move very slowly across Glasgow and the Central Belt and were persistent and heavy at times.

"It started to move away around 6am to head further south.

"The first half of this evening should be dry with some ice and frost. But there will be a risk of rain, sleet, and snow showers in the west overnight and there will be more wintery showers over the weekend, with temperatures going below zero."

It was not just Scotland that was affected this morning because England Wales was also hit by snow and heavy rain in the latest bout of bad weather to hit the UK.

Up to 3in of snow hit some parts of Wales, the Midlands and the South East.

The weather system also brought in gales over the south coast.

Last week Scotland was battered by hurricane force winds and on Tuesday suffered gales and torrential rain.

deborah.anderson@ eveningtimes.co.uk