Sunderland's mini Ice Age, when six million tonnes of snow fell on Wearside in 1963

Six million tonnes of snow fell on Sunderland in 1963. It lay 13 inches deep at times with 15ft snow drifts and 70mph winds thrown in.

Non-stop snow for 45 days

Anti-freeze froze in cars. The area endured 45 days of continuous snow falling, and 67 days of it lying on the ground.

Buses, vans and even the snow ploughs struggled to get going. By February, the snow was so deep that some of the snow ploughing was abandoned.

Residents in villages found themselves cut off. There was a huge rise in pneumonia cases, the area had a measles outbreak and there were 12,000 reports of burst pipes.

It went on for months

It was only 60 years ago this month that it finally eased up.

Thanks to Philip Curtis and Sunderland Antiquarian Society for sharing the memories.

Were you in Sunderland during that awful winter? Email [email protected]