HIGHWAYS Agency officials say they “did everything they could” to keep the A34 open last month after heavy snow left drivers stranded for up to 12 hours.

But Thames Valley Police are conducting an urgent review to see whether lessons can be learned from their response to the problems caused by the snow on Saturday, December 18.

Hundreds of drivers became stuck on the northbound carriageway.

Some lorries had to be dug out of the snow the following day.

Highways Agency spokesman James Wright said: “The agency did everything it could to keep the A34 open to traffic throughout the exceptionally severe weather in Oxfordshire.

“Driving conditions were especially difficult on Saturday, December 18, due to persistent heavy snowfall.

“The Highways Agency had treated the roads it manages with salt before the forecast snow arrived, and operated continuous salt treatment and snow ploughing throughout the weekend.

“Where incidents occurred, we worked with the police to reopen lanes as soon as it was safe to do so.”

More than 6in (17cm) of snow fell in Oxfordshire in just three hours that morning.

As road conditions deteriorated, a number of jack-knifed lorries and abandoned cars on the A34 led to a tailback building up between the Pear Tree interchange, north of Oxford, and junction 9 of the M40 at Wendlebury, near Bicester.

Mr Wright added: “We issued regular warnings to road users throughout this period, asking drivers to check road conditions and the weather forecast before setting out.

“We will certainly take on board any lessons that need to be learned, but if the weather is truly exceptional, some disruption is inevitable.”

There were also complaints from drivers about the condition of roads that are the responsibility of the county council.

Writing on the Oxford Mail website at the time, one motorist said: “I was visiting from London at the weekend and only managed to get back to Oxford station courtesy of a neighbour who had a 4x4.

“However the roads from Farmoor to Botley and then Botley to the station were awful and a disgrace. They need to do better.”

Thames Valley Police, which had officers out helping stranded HGV drivers, would not discuss the Highways Agency’s comments.

Chief Inspector Gill Wootton, head of the force’s roads policing department, said: “I’m in the process of conducting an internal review following the snow-related problems on the A34 in Oxfordshire on December 18.

“As part of the review I have been speaking with officers who formed part of the emergency response team on the day, as well as our partner agencies.

“Following the completion of the review we will see if any lessons need to be learned and evaluate how we plan to deal with similar incidents caused by extreme weather in the future.”

And Oxfordshire County Council said it had also done everything it could to keep roads open.

Ian Hudspeth, the council's cabinet member for infrastructure, said: “In the event of heavy snow like we saw recently, a certain level of disruption is almost inevitable, but what cannot be called into question is the dedication of our gritting teams and support staff.

“They do an excellent job under extremely difficult conditions, often with little acknowledgement or praise. I would like to put on record my thanks for their efforts.”