When amber weather warnings for snow were in place last month for parts of Scotland, northern England, the Midlands, the East and South East, motorists were advised to avoid driving if at all possible and emergency services were on alert to deal with crashes.

Many schools were closed, flights were cancelled and train services disrupted but hardy forecourts remained open for their customers.

One of the worst snow-hit areas was Lincoln where three women died in a crash between a car and a lorry however investigators told the BBC it was too early to say whether the weather was a factor.

Forecourt Trader spoke to service stations in the area to see how they were coping with the adverse weather the so-called Beast from the East.

Jake Tomlinson of Winning Post Service Station in Lincoln managed to get into work okay: "It was quiet earlier but has picked up (mid morning)," he said at the time. "But I think people are starting to panic buy a bit now."

At Spar Fairfield in Louth, Lincolnshire it was a different story as some staff had not managed to get into work. An assistant on the till told Forecourt Trader she couldn’t talk because she was currently doing three people’s work.