Unusual snow hits UK and Europe HEAVY snow has caused havoc in Britain and Western Europe, cutting off power and disrupting road, air and train travel. In Britain, drivers including former Eurovision song contest winner Cheryl Baker were trapped for more than 10 hours as ice, snow and freezing winds descended on southeastern England on Monday and Tuesday. Police, rescue services, snow ploughs and gritting lorries battled to help the stricken motorists in temperatures as low as -3C. The counties of Sussex and Kent bordering London were worst affected with roads including stretches of the M23 motorway near Gatwick Airport under 10 centimetres of snow. Singer Cheryl Baker, formerly of the band Bucks Fizz, was among those caught up in the chaos as she tried to reach Brighton to pick up her children. "We took 10 hours to do a one-hour journey," she told ITV. Eurostar said services of the train that runs under the English channel were suspended "due to extreme weather conditions." Commuters in Paris were advised to stay at home on Tuesday morning and French Prime Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault activated an emergency response plan. Germany's biggest airport in Frankfurt was temporarily closed because of heavy snow. Some 200 to 300 flights were cancelled as bad weather hampered efforts by snow sweepers to clear runways and prevented airline crews from reaching work on time. Airport operator Fraport AG said it expected flights to resume at 1.30pm (2330 AEDT). Major disruptions were also reported in Belgium and the Netherlands. Weather service Meteo France described the snowfall - coming only eight days before the official start of spring - as "remarkable for the season." More than 2000 people were stranded in their cars overnight as heavy snow paralysed roads in Normandy and Brittany, with many spending the night in emergency shelters. There are cars in front, there are cars behind. We're in a film, it's like the end of the world," trapped driver Michel told France Bleu radio from the Manche region. At least 66,000 homes in Normandy and Brittany were without power, following snowfalls of 20 to 60 centimetres. The city's two main airports, Charles de Gaulle and Orly, said they had cancelled up to a quarter of flights. A homeless man was found dead in the north-western town of Saint-Brieuc early on Tuesday. The 58-year-old man was believed to have died of exposure.