Severe weather conditions led to a spate of major rescue operations yesterday, including one where at least 150 motorists were trapped in snow between Penrith and Scotch Corner.

The commuters - including 40 pensioners and 15 children - were stranded on the A66, around five miles west of Bowes village in Teesdale.

In a separate incident, an RAF Nimrod was scrambled from its base in Kinloss to assist in an attempt to airlift the captain of a damaged cargo ship seriously injured as he tried to fasten down containers during a force 10 gale off the Scilly Isles.

The rescue bid in treacherous seas was called off late last night as it was too dangerous.

An RAF Sea King helicopter had battled in force nine winds at the edge of its range to attempt the rescue of the skipper of the Horncliff, a cargo ship carrying bananas and other fruit from the Caribbean to Dover.

Two passengers were hurt along with the skipper as it battled the storm off the Isles of Scilly yesterday.

It spent almost an hour hovering over the vessel trying to get the injured man off. Squadron Leader Barry Neilson said: "They have now assessed that it's safer for the master to remain where he is."

The captain will be transferred to hospital later today when the ship arrives in Cork.

Earlier, crew and passengers were rescued from a trawler off the coast of St Kilda.

It came in the aftermath of a major rescue operation when a ferry ran aground off Blackpool.

Blizzards affected much of Scotland and northern England, with snow recorded as deep as six inches.

In Aberdeenshire, a 21-year-old woman was killed when the car in which she was a passenger crashed on a road in snow and icy conditions.

The 23-year-old male driver of the vehicle and a two-year-old child escaped injury. The accident happened on the Fyfie to Rothienorman road.

Commuters trapped in the A66 incident were taken to nearby hotels, pubs and halls.

Chief inspector Graham Rankin, of Durham Police, said about 150 vehicles, carrying perhaps 200 people, had been stranded. The rescues came after the Durham and Cumbria forces closed the A66. Julie Wilson, from the Castle Hotel in Brough, said: "We had a coach-load of pensioners who were ferried down by the police. A few of the elderly ones had to have medication administered to them, but they've all gone off quite happily now."

Adam Hearn, from the local mountain rescue team, said: "If we hadn't been able to react as quickly as we did then things could have been somewhat more difficult. We managed to get everyone out of their cars in daylight," he said.

In an earlier incident, 14 Spanish seamen were airlifted to safety when their British-registered trawler ran aground in force nine gales.

The Spinningdale was pushed into rocks and swamped by water off St Kilda 41 miles west of Benbecula yesterday morning. The crew, two of them suffering from mild hypothermia, were flown to Stornoway for treatment.

The rescue helicopter scrambled to St Kilda was piloted by Liz Forsyth, the only female helicopter captain in UK civilian search and rescue.

Meanwhile, rescuers were hailed for their bravery after saving 23 people on a stricken ferry battered by mountainous seas. Helicopters and lifeboats scrambled to the Riverdance ferry, after a "freak" wave hit the vessel on Thursday evening, in the Irish Sea off the coast near Blackpool.

Airman Rich Taylor was winched down in gale-force winds, while lifeboat crew braved 20-foot waves.

Treacherous weather is also thought to have led to two firefighters being injured when a blazing garage in Lanarkshire collapsed on them.

Heavy snow fell in the Highlands, causing lorries to get stuck in drifts on the A9 near Inverness yesterday.

The Forth Road Bridge, Skye Bridge and Erskine Bridge were closed to high-sided vehicles, and several roads around Aberdeenshire were shut due to heavy snow.

About 300 homes lost power, mainly in Dumfries, Lanarkshire and Ayrshire, ScottishPower said.