POLICE have been praised for digging stranded lorry drivers out of the snow.

Pcs Chris Bennett and Laura Jones and Pcso Larry Gardner were unable to get out and about in their cars.

Prevented from reporting for duty in Thame and Wantage, they walked to their nearest police station in Kidlington and ended up coming to the rescue of 10 HGV drivers who had been left marooned on the A34 by the snow.

Some of the drivers they rescued had been stuck in laybys for 24 hours.

They were led by Sergeant Colin Travi, who suggested the foursome went out to see who they could help.

Pcso Gardner, 56, from Wantage, said some of the stranded drivers were from as far afield as Germany and Poland.

He said: “Helping the community is what neighbourhood policing is all about.

“I couldn’t dig my car out from Kidlington so I went to my local station and the sergeant said ‘let’s go out and see what we can do’.

“A lot of the drivers had been stuck since the previous afternoon.

“They were really pleased to see us but so were all the other motorists driving past who were smiling and waving. It was a nice atmosphere.”

Last Saturday’s deluge of snow brought Oxfordshire to a near standstill and left many drivers struggling to get about with eight inches of the white stuff on the ground.

Pc Jones, 26, said: “We thought this was the best use of our time.

“Most drivers were surprised, they expected to be stranded for longer.”

The rescue crew were able to dig many drivers out armed with just their shovels, and the team even rescued stuck lorries on the A34 from Kidlington up to Bicester.

However, to free the lorries that were more deeply stuck they needed to call in road policing’s 4x4s to tow them.

Head of roads policing, Superintendent Rob Povey, said: “The extreme weather led to a very serious situation developing on the A34 in Oxfordshire, which led to many motorists becoming stranded in the snow and ice.

“Throughout the developing situation Thames Valley Police officers worked closely with the Highways Agency to help keep vehicles moving.

“Not only did officers show their commitment to get into work despite the treacherous conditions, they went above and beyond the call of duty to help those trapped in the snow, which is epitomised by the efforts of these officers, who helped dig out heavy goods vehicles left stranded on the A34.”