Tim Miles, chief veterinary adviser for Britain's RSPCA, said micro-chipping dogs was a better way of keeping track of dogs.

CNN: Give a dog a cell phone

Ch Insp Tim Mairs said that some rescuers had walked for miles through heavy snow, facing "possibly 12 to 18ft drifts of snow" in some places, to reach housebound people.

BBC: Power problems remain after severe weather cuts supplies

Tim Whitehurst from Eaton Park said it took him an hour to travel three miles (5km) to work on Monday morning.

BBC: Gritters out in Staffordshire after ice warning