While much of the county has been experiencing difficulty due to snowy conditions for most of the past week, Tenby and the southern coastal belt seems to have escaped relatively lightly.

There have been a few flurries in the south, as well as problems with flooded roads and fallen trees, but only a matter of 10 or so miles north, it has been a totally different story, with roads blocked, power lines down and various services disrupted.

The problems, which began last Friday, continued on Wednesday afternoon when a school bus with some 40 pupils on board slid off the road in North East Pembrokeshire as snow again swept across the county.

There were no reported injuries and the pupils - from Ysgol y Preseli in Crymych - stayed on board while waiting for a relief bus to collect them and continue their journey.

The accident occurred between Maenclochog and Mynachlogddu, the school having closed early because of deteriorating weather conditions.

Difficult driving conditions were also reported on the A40 at Pengawse, the A477 east of Red Roses to St. Clears and A487 between Penblewin and Crymych.

As we were going to press yesterday (Thursday), there were yellow warnings for ice on untreated roads in the county.

Six schools in the north and east of the county were closed, with four partially open.

All primary routes in the county were clear, but there were difficult driving conditions on untreated roads around Moylegrove, Crymych, Hermon and Mynachlogddu.

Three gritters were operating in the affected area trying to catch up on the numerous requests received in the past couple of days.

All bus routes except two were running normally.

Service No. 430, operated by Richards Brothers between Cardigan and Narberth, had some minor diversions because of difficulty on roads in the Rhoshill and Hermon area, while Service No. 345, operated by Collins, was using a direct route only between Mynachlogddu and Maenclochog because some minor roads were still impassable yesterday morning.

The wintry weather has been causing widespread disruption across Pembrokeshire since forecasted snow overnight on Thursday into Friday.

On Friday, Western Power had numerous power lines disrupted in the county, mostly high voltage lines.

An estimated 5,000 households were affected, including the Narberth and Clynderwen areas, while the BT network was also down in certain places, again including between Princes Gate and Narberth and Molleston, Templeton.

Police officers throughout Dyfed-Powys went the extra mile to protect residents and 4x4 vehicles were available to areas expected to be worst hit by the weather to enable officers to respond to emergency calls.

Pembrokeshire County Council reported problems on the A478 and A40, while the A477 was blocked between Red Roses and St. Clears because of a fallen tree, while a tanker was stuck on the A40 at Pengawse.

In addition, there was significant pooling of water on several roads due to drainage channels being blocked by slush and snow. This included the A477 near Sageston and the Carew - Tenby road near Gumfreston. The streams at The Commons, Pembroke, were topping and flooding the car park.

A tree also came down in Saundersfoot causing some road disruption.

The road was closed between Carew and Carew Cheriton due to flooding, as was the A4075 Carew to Canaston Bridge which was closed at Carew village, while there were also problems in Angle.

A total of 19 schools were closed, with a further three partially shut.

Refuse crews managed to operate, although services were running late, while Meals on Wheels services were hit, with Maenclochog's being cancelled, Eglwyswrw's being delivered on foot and Narberth's proving problematic, as it was difficult to get hold of volunteers due to power cuts.

At Parc Gwyn Crematorium, Narberth, there was no electricity or 'phones for a time. However, a back-up generator was in operation to run all chapel services for funerals.

Elsewhere, Good Neighbouring Schemes were activated and provided door knocking services to ensure welfare of the community, especially in areas of power outage.

Minimal Disruption across Hywel Dda

It was business as usual for the majority of health services across Hywel Dda Health Board on Friday.

The health board experienced minimal disruption with a small number of clinics at Withybush and Tenby hospitals being postponed.

The board would like to thank their patients for letting them know they were unable to attend their appointments due to the weather.

Chief executive Trevor Purt said: "We have been lucky in this part of Wales and have avoided a lot of the disruption seen in the rest of the UK. Many of our staff have to navigate through country roads to get to work and visit their patients in the community and we thank them for all they have done to get to work to help others.

"It is a testament to their hard work and dedication that disruption to services has been very minimal and I'd like to extend my thanks to them on behalf of their patients and visitors."

Further wintry weather

Further wintry weather on Monday led to problems on the roads in the north of the county and a small number of school closures which included Crymych's Ysgol y Preseli and Ysgol y Frenni, plus Ysgol Gymunedol, Maenclochog.

Icy roads were reported in the Clunderwen and Mynachlog-ddu areas, while difficult driving conditions were reported in the Tavernspite area around the Carmarthenshire border.

Some snow overnight on Monday, particularly over the upland areas in the north saw four inches (10cm) around Crymych.

Ysgol y Preseli was closed on Tuesday, as was Ysgol y Frenni and Whitland School, while Tavernspite School advised parents to collect children early if possible.

FOOTNOTE: Former Netherwood School, Saundersfoot, and Greenhill School, Tenby, pupil Jeremy Hughes, who is now headteacher of West Town Lane Academy, Bristol, was interviewed by ITV Daybreak on Friday morning after his school was featured during their snow story reports.