See the spring snow that shocked West Sussex in April 2008 – in pictures

It was the first heavy snow for years, bringing winter back on Sunday, April 6, 2008 – just as spring was getting underway.

There was delight for children and the young at heart, making snowmen, throwing snowballs and going sledging, but disappointment in Arundel, where the arrival of the snow a few minutes before the start of the Arundel Park 10k race led to it being cancelled.

Snow on the high ground in the park would have made conditions treacherous for the hundreds of runners and organisers, the 1st Arundel Scout Group, had no alternative but to call off the event.

By late morning, a blanket of white up to four inches deep covered the area from the top of the South Downs to sea level at Littlehampton, where instead of sandcastles, a snowman stood on the beach.

Highdown Hill, north of Worthing, was particularly popular with families, as hundreds of people took to the slopes on sledges, tea trays, snowboards or just plastic sacks.

It was the largest national April snowfall since 1989, turning the south coast into a winter wonderland. Severe weather warnings in the previous week had only hinted at the severity of the blizzard, which coated the town in white from around 9.15am onward.

West Sussex County Council admitted it had been taken by surprise by the snow and had not gritted roads in advance.

By noon, the shoreline was dotted at irregular intervals by snowmen of varying size and quality as tourists and locals alike posed for pictures in the unseasonal snow. There was a snow dog, called, inevitably, Snowy, as people took creative control of the situation.

But the magical scenes did not last long, with sunlight breaking through the clouds in the early afternoon as the thaw set in.