MOTORISTS are being warned not to travel unless their journey is absolutely necessary after snow and sub-zero temperatures caused chaos.

With more snow expected, the Highways Agency warned motorists to avoid any non-essential journeys.

Jon Caldwell, eastern region operations manager for the Highways Agency, said: “Motorists should seriously consider whether their journey is necessary.

“If vehicles become immobilised on these icy and snow covered roads it makes it much harder for us to complete our gritting runs.”

Most of Essex was badly hit by heavy snowfalls on Saturday and icy conditions all weekend. In Basildon, 30 cars were involved in a pile-up on the A13.

In north Essex, Motorists were forced to queue for up to four hours on the A12 between Ipswich to Colchester and on the A133 into Colchester on Saturday evening.

Cars were abandoned on Balkerne Hill and the Avenue of Remembrance, Colchester, as drivers failed to negotiate the snow and ice.

Police said motorists had failed to heed warnings to stay off the roads.

Officers acted as taxis, taking people home as they got stuck in the snow.

One elderly blind man was given a lift after he was left stranded in the wintry conditions because his bus was cancelled.

Police said any hills became impossible to drive up. Essex County Council said gritters were sent out across the county on Saturday afternoon and were out again later in the evening.

Public transport passengers were left stranded after trains and buses were cancelled.

The A13 was brought to a halt on the London-bound track at Corringham after a 30-car pile-up.

Traffic backed up all the way back to Southend, where the icy roads were already clogged as shoppers rushed into their cars to get home before the snow got even heavier.

The bad weather and crashes meant short journeys took some motorists up to three hours.

Motorists heading for the A127 to avoid the already clogged A13 faced a hellish journey.

The dual carriageway moved at a snail’s pace all the way from Southend town centre to the Rayleigh Weir throughout most of Saturday afternoon and into the evening.

Some motorists abandoned their cars at the side of the carriageway.

One BMW driver left their car in the outside lane of the A127 at Progress Road, Southend, causing further pandemonium.

From Southend all the way to the Dick Turpin near Basildon, motorists had parked their cars on the cycle track at the side of the A127 and left their vehicles.

In Basildon some shoppers sat for hours trying to get out of Car Park 14 at Roundacre and the NCP car park near to the Post Office in Great Oaks as the town was also brought to a standstill.

Snow ploughs were out on the A12 and A130 to clear the heavy snow.