At the peak of the snow showers on Thursday the majority of Dorset's main roads were at a standstill.

With freezing temperatures and high winds motorists faced extremely difficult conditions.

Journey times were prolonged and people were abandoning vehicles on the carriageway, continuing their journeys on foot.

A Daily Echo reporting team caught up in the heavy traffic witnessed both the good and bad in road users during the peak of the problems.

On the Wessex Way vehicles heading from Bournemouth West roundabout to Richmond Hill were struggling to progress up the shallow incline before the slip road.

However, several heroic drivers took it upon themselves to provide a helping hand and push vehicles on their way up the hill despite the horrendous weather.

While some offered support to others on the road, the queues proved too much for some to handle with some taking the reckless decision to perform a U-turn on the dual carriageway and drive back up the road in the wrong direction weaving in and out of oncoming traffic.