SEVERE weather warnings today remain in place for much of the North East as freezing rain and Arctic temperatures continue to hit the region.

There are fears of further chaos after forecasters warned the region should brace itself for another day of low temperatures.

Forecasters predict that icy conditions will continue with temperatures set to drop to 0°C.

A milder forecast is predicted for the weekend, but temperatures are still only expected to reach a maximum of 6°C.

Motorists have been warned to only drive if it is absolutely necessary. Yesterday traffic ground to a halt in many areas across the North East, while people experienced long delays on the region’s Metro system.

The treacherous conditions also led to a string of accidents elsewhere, with 100 in Cumbria.

A spokesman for Cumbria County Council said: “A ‘perfect storm’ of rain falling on freezing ground has caused extremely hazardous road conditions in the county.

“Conditions are expected to remain hazardous for at least the next 24 hours and drivers are being urged to avoid travelling unless absolutely necessary.”

On the Blaydon Highway, police were called to a 10-car pile-up near to the junction with Chain Bridge.

A man who was involved in a crash got out of his car and was hit by another vehicle and knocked over the barrier. He was taken to the Royal Victoria Infirmary in Newcastle with life-threatening injuries.

Five cars and a double-decker bus crashed on the Felling bypass in Gateshead, while drivers were trapped after a crash elsewhere in Gateshead at the junction of the A194 and the A1 southbound.

On the Military Road at Walwick, west Northumberland, two of three men in a transit van were airlifted to hospital after their vehicle careered off the road into a tree.

The accident happened in what police described as “extremely hazardous” conditions shortly before 7am.

Injuries to one of the men were said to be serious and the road was closed for two hours while investigations were carried out.

A woman driver was cut from her car on the A68 at Minsteracres, south Northumberland, after it went off the road and rammed into a tree.

The woman was yesterday undergoing treatment for serious injuries in hospital.

On the A69, vehicles overturned near both the Corbridge and Hexham roundabouts, but there were no major casualties.

In Durham, police received a number of reports of minor smashes across the county. Crashes were reported in Esh Winning, on the A690 at Rainton Gate, Broompark, in Durham, and in Consett where a mother and baby suffered minor injuries. Meanwhile, there were system-wide delays on the Metro. Trains were held up after a member of staff had an accident at Benton Metro Station.

It is understood the driver slipped on the platform and was taken to hospital by ambulance with minor injuries.

Around 700 Metro passengers also had to be escorted from trains yesterday morning after power failures stopped journeys.

At Pelaw Metro station 400 people were stranded on the line around 800 yards from the platform and were helped down a short ladder and taken back to the station.

Another 300 commuters were walked along the track from Fellgate Metro station.

A Nexus spokesman apologised for the inconvenience. Services returned to normal after long delays.