Vital deliveries to West Country supermarkets were delayed as about 50 lorries were stranded at the roadside for eight hours as they struggled to make it through snow today.

Heavy goods vehicles travelling along the A37 Wells Road in Bristol to Somerset were backed up for at least a mile along the side of the road after several lorries jack-knifed.

Police closed the road at around 12 noon for plough trucks and gritters to move in and allow the trucks, some of them carrying deliveries for Tesco, Asda and Iceland, to get moving again.

Some supermarkets in Bristol have been running low on milk and bread today as deliveries into the city were hampered by the weather.

A spokesman for Bristol City Council said the road was reopened shortly after 1pm.

“Despite extensive gritting and as much work as possible with snow ploughs throughout the night and early morning, conditions on Wells Road have been very difficult indeed, particularly close to the junctions with Airport Road and Happy Landings Hill,” he said.

“Several lorries jack-knifed on the very steep Red Lion Hill section of the A37, causing blockages and tailbacks back to the junction with the A4.”

Zaheer Shabir, 36, who lives on Wells Road, brought hot drinks and toast to lorry drivers stuck with their loads.

“Some of the drivers were out there from 5am and had to keep their engines running to keep warm in their cabs, so my family and I brought them toast and tea and coffee to do what we could to make it more bearable,” he said.

“I’m just doing what I can to be a good citizen, I have never seen anything like this before.

“It is a main route and you would expect the police and the council to keep it moving but there is not much that can be done until the snow melts.

“It was a once-in-a-lifetime scene, like something from the television documentary Ice Road Truckers in Alaska.”

Lorry driver Dave Smith had a delivery for Asda in Whitchurch.

“It just came to standstill and no-one was able to get anywhere,” he said.

“I know salt is in scarce demand but it has to come from somewhere otherwise Bristol will come to a standstill.”

Avon and Somerset Police warned drivers not to venture out over the next 24 hours unless their journey is essential as temperatures were expected to fall.

Avon and Somerset Police Deputy Chief Constable Rob Beckley said: “If the temperatures do drop as predicted, and the snow turns to ice, then even those roads which have been treated with salt and grit could become increasingly dangerous.

“Efforts are being made to treat as many roads as possible but clearly the priority must be main arterial routes, and there will undoubtedly be many routes which will not be treated.

“All the agencies within the Local Resilience Forum are in regular discussion, sharing resources and ensuring that all critical services are maintained.”