A YOUNG East Meon farmer who helped keep the roads round the village open says no more snow please, we want the crops to start growing.

Ryan Morse (23) and Jack Atkinson (19) work on South Farm on the East Meon to Clanfield road, and have been praised for their efforts in keeping the roads open.

On the afternoon (Thursday, March 1) as Storm Emma from the south met the artic ‘Beast from the East’ over south east England, they were alerted by Hampshire County Council.

As the blizzard blew in with increasing force, they set out to keep the roads around East Meon, Clanfield, Langrish and along the A272 open to traffic.

Ryan, who lives in Horndean, said: “The farm has two snow ploughs that go on tractors, and the first went out at about 4pm, and the second about 5pm.

“Jack lives at Oxenbourne and cleared the A272 and lanes joining it, and I went round the villages.

“It was coming down so heavily and drifts in the fields were being blown onto the roads, so by the time we got back to South Farm, we had to start again.

“So no more snow please, we want the crops to start growing now spring is here.”

Some lanes off the A272 were more than two feet deep in snow, while the drifts against the hedges reached the underside of the tractor cabs.

At about 10pm in the white out Ryan found a car trying to get out of the village up Hyden Hill road.

He said: “A couple were trying to get to Waterlooville, and they were stuck, going nowhere. I towed them until it was safe for them to drive on.

“It was so bad that when we stopped in the early morning I had to drive the tractor home to Horndean.”

Hampshire County Council leader Cllr Roy Perry has praised more than 100 volunteer farmers, including Ryan and Jack, who kept the countys’ rural roads open.

And locally, Daniel Sayers posted on social media: “A big thankyou to Ryan Morse and Jack Atkinson who were out until god knows when, good job lads.”