Friday 23rd January 1959

Dense fog brought many roads in England and Wales to a virtual standstill. An AA spokesman said 28 hours of fog in the capital had left a nil-visibility ring around London. He said: “It is a motorist’s nightmare as rush-hour drivers grope their way through nil visibility in the Hendon, Finchley, Northolt, Wandsworth, Bromley and Sidcup districts.” Traffic patrols reported nose-to-tail jams and vehicles travelling at a crawl from all parts of the capital. At least six people were injured in three collisions on the ice-covered Kingston by-pass in Surrey. Thirty-five vehicles were involved in a collision in dense fog at Hampton Hill in Middlesex. A London Transport spokesman said many buses had been unable to leave their garages because crews could not get to work on time.