ICY conditions and freezing fog caused delays for thousands of travellers and a steep rise in the number of accidents across Merseyside yesterday.

Thousands of ferry and aeroplane passengers were affected as dense fog blanketed the region.

A spokesperson for the North West Ambulance Service said yesterday had been “absolutely manic”, with lots more calls than normal for trips and falls.

She said: “It’s been completely mad. The phone hasn’t stopped ringing. The control manager said we have had so many falls today it’s unbelievable. The conditions are a lot worse [than they have been] – apparently it’s just like an ice rink out there.”

Liverpool Council said they were gritting all the busiest pedestrian areas, but advised people to take extra care.

The council and police in St Helens urged people to stay off frozen lakes, after numerous reports of children playing on dangerously thin ice.

Superintendent Rowley Moore said: "I cannot emphasise enough the importance of people keeping off the ice during this wintry weather. It is an incredibly dangerous thing to do.”

Five outbound flights from Liverpool John Lennon airport were cancelled yesterday due to poor visibility, while as many as 3,000 passengers were affected by delays of up to four hours. The delays were the knock-on effect from 16 flights being diverted elsewhere in fog on Sunday.

Mersey Ferries were unable to run due to the fog yesterday morning, but the service resumed for evening commuters. Vessels coming in and out of the Port of Liverpool also faced long delays. Deputy Harbour Master Martin Leech said it was the longest period of disruption he had seen in his two years there.