STORM Emma may have brought the heaviest snowfall to the Forest and Wye Valley for years but it also seems to have brought out the best in people.

A huge well of community spirit was on show as workers and residents got stuck in to keep services and businesses open and to help neighbours and complete strangers.

The Review has been asked to pass on the thanks of many people to those who did their bit to help – often without being asked or even mentioning their names.

Joyce Bon wrote to thank a group of ‘hardy teen­agers’ who helped push her car up the hill in High Street, Bream while Heather and Roy Trotman of Lydney were touched that neighbours called in to check that they were OK.

Frozen pipes and boiler failures meant phone lines to plumbers and heating engineers were kept busy.

Elizabeth and Patrick Clark of Yorkley wanted to commend local firm AJ Boilers after a father and son team trekked through the snow to deal with their heating problem.

Mrs Clark said: “Having spent three days without heating and hot water, isolated at the end of a snow covered track, life seemed hard. A suggestion from a friend led me to contact A J Boilers. They too were isolated by snow.

“Later in the day a phone call came saying that father and son were on their way.

“They arrived, having walked through the snow along the track, immediately knew what the problem was and proceeded to resolve it.

“It is reassuring to know that we have people in our community who are prepared to exceed expectations to help others in difficulty.”

Staff made it into work to open the Forest Council offices in Coleford on Friday and, despite bin lorries being forced off the road by the snow, it was business as usual for waste collections on Monday.

The Boots pharmacy in Cinderford opened specially on Sunday to provide extra capacity in the Forest for those needing medicines, alongside Badham’s in Newnham and Boots in Bream.

Waste and recycling was also being collected as normal in Monmouthshire on Monday after refuse crews had been assisting colleagues from the highways departments with snow clearing.

Monmouthshire Council estimates that 900 tonnes of salt has been put down on the county’s roads and on both sides of the borders volunteers brought out diggers and 4x4 vehicles to help.

Sue Dubois of Newnham praised brothers Steve and Alan Grindle of SDG Groundwork Solutions for clearing roads in the village.

She said: “At around 2pm on Saturday, two guys came driving snow ploughs down Severn Street and cleared it all away with smiles on their faces and they had also been around most of our other roads and streets.

With no parking of its own at Yorkley School, finding somewhere to leave cars is a bit of a challenge.

Staff joined parents and governors on Sunday to clear the playground to make a temporary car park and the nearby Bailey Inn helped out by allowing parents to use its car park to drop off and pick up the children.

Among those who drove NHS staff and carers were Matt Lewis of The Cellar pub in Caldicot, Mark James, Ross Howden, Gary Nicks, Kyle Gettings, James Moore.

Spare a thought for the mum and daughter team who spent six hours into the early hours of Saturday delivering milk in Caldicot and Portskewett.

Not for them the luxury of a heated cab – their 1970s electric milk float doesn’t even have doors.

The milk lady, who did not want to be named, said: “A few of our customers were about and they were surprised that we were delivering.

“The chiller where we keep the milk felt tropical compared to what it was like outside.”

Later that morning her boss, Andy Bradbury, spent part of his birthday completing the round, delivering to the places that the float had been unable to reach. He had also been out the snow on Thursday.