A MAIN road into Wiveliscombe was closed this afternoon when ice at a notorious accident blackspot made it almost impossible to drive.

Ice built up throughout the morning due to water seepage from surrounding fields on the B3227 New Road at a spot known as ‘Devil’s Elbow’.

At first, drivers were warned to ‘take extra care and approach the road with additional caution’.

Somerset County Council highways teams were at the scene applying extra salt and trying to break up and remove the ice near the Challick Lane junction.

However, by this afternoon they had decided it was too dangerous for motorists and they closed the road, which is the main route into Devon.

Drivers were advised to find an alternative route around the danger spot.

B3227 Devil's Elbow Wiveliscombe
The 'Devil's Elbow' blackspot on the B3227 near Wiveliscombe. (Google Maps)

The move followed the lowest road surface temperatures recorded this winter at minus 6C and was despite county council gritters being out all afternoon yesterday and working into the early hours of today on all gritting routes.

A county spokesman said: “Forecasts for road surface temperatures are still well below freezing.”

There was also a risk of hoar frost across the county - a type of feathery frost which forms in specific climatic conditions.