LONG-forgotten memories of severe British winters came flooding back when the river Severn froze over last week.

From a taxi driving down the Severn to teenagers skating on a frozen Pitchcroft, Worcester News readers have been reminiscing about chilly days gone by ever since a thin sheet of ice formed on the Severn on Wednesday, December 8.

Jennifer Harman, of Oldbury Road, St John’s, remembers the winter of 1981/1982, which was the last time the river through Worcester froze over.

“We had a lot of snow and all the schools were closed,” said 65-yearold Mrs Harman.

“I took my three boys, who are now in their 30s, down to Hylton Road, pulling them in toboggans, and stood them by the river while I took photos.

“I told them to look and remember what they saw as they probably would never see it again in their lives.

“They all remember the occasion and often have recounted it over the years.

“I had never seen the river frozen before, but it had happened a few years previously. I cannot believe that it has happened twice in my lifetime already.”

Kevin Savage’s family lived in Henwick Road at the time.

His stepfather Barrie Tunley managed to capture the frozen river on video camera.

Reader Marguerite Collins recalled the Great Freeze of 1963 – one of the coldest winters on record in the UK – when, thanks to some relaxed health and safety rules, someone drove a taxi on the frozen river between Worcester and Tewkesbury.

“I have told people of this but they find it hard to believe, as I did at the time,” said Mrs Collins.

The perilous journey was reported in the Worcester News, then called the Worcester News and Times. It told how the driver travelled from Bredon Dock, near Tewkesbury. It was “the most exhilarating ride”, he said.

That was the same winter when Worcestershire’s canals froze so thick that cargo being carried by narrow boats ended up being transported by the railways and roads. Back in 1958, the river was again frozen over and teenagers turned a frozen Pitchcroft into an ice rink.

Edith Mann (nee William), aged 71, of Worcester, remembers it well.

“I was 17 at the time and I took my sister-in-law, who was about seven then,” she said. “It was really good fun.”

Worcestershire weather expert Paul Damari said the river freezes over when it is exposed to consecutive cold nights, normally when temperatures go below -8C on numerous occasions.

“What happens is where the river flow is sluggish, the ice forms from the bankside and moves further out, eventually joining the ice formed from the opposite bank,” he said.

Police have issued warnings for people not to go onto frozen water for their own safety as it may not hold their weight.