SNOW flurries and freezing conditions caused burst water pipes and one school's closure as winter weather hit the Basingstoke area yesterday.

Weather forecasters had been predicting the cold front, which had worked its way from Siberia and over the northern half of the country before hitting the South overnight on Monday, since the weekend.

The water flooding from a burst main turned to ice and forced Basingstoke police to close an Oakley road yesterday morning. The eight-inch diameter pipe burst in Oakley Lane at about 7.30am.

The village's infant school was also closed for the day because the water supplies were cut off.

A spokesman for Oakley Infant School confirmed children were sent home as they arrived for school with their parents.

Jane Gould, a spokeswoman for South East Water, said: "It was quite a sizeable water main that burst.

"Our men were on site pretty quickly and managed to locate the problem and isolate the section of pipe.

"By 9am the water was back on and the road was open again."

Workmen from South East Water continued to work through yesterday morning to repair the damaged section of the pipe. The cause of the damage is unknown.

Miss Gould said: "Quite often you get a little bit of ground movement if the temperature drops like it has done. But the cause of the problem could be anything."

Apart from the incident in Oakley, the snow caused little disruption across Basingstoke and north Hampshire.

A spokesman for Hampshire police said: "The weather has caused a lot of delays on the roads, with people driving more slowly.

"We had to close Oakley Lane because of the burst water main as the water was freezing once it had escaped.

"Apart from that, it has been remarkably good and we haven't had any problems at all."

But police are keen to remind residents to take extra care, especially when driving in the freezing conditions.

Inspector Peter Hughes, from the Hampshire police Roads Policing Unit, said: "We would recommend driving only if the journey is absolutely essential.

"If a journey can't be avoided it's vital that you prepare for the conditions."

Hampshire County Council's gritting lorries have also been working flat out this week - both in advance of, and during, the snow.