One lane on A690 westbound road remains open

Huge mounds of snow had gathered on the hills next to the westbound carriageway, with council bosses opting to close the stretch of road in the interests of safety.

There had been fears that any melting snow could fall onto vehicles below and cause accidents.

Officers from Tyne and Wear Fire and Rescue service had been trying to dislodge the drifts over the past few days, without success.

But the outside lane was re-opened by workers yesterday afternoon.

The inside lane remains closed.

A 100 metre stretch of one metre high water filled barriers has been put in place to separate the two carriageways and limit any snow from the rock face falling into the closed inside lane.

Council chiefs have said the situation will continue to be monitored on a two-hourly basis until it returns to normal.