It's snow joke! Blackpool was covered in the white stuff

And in the last seven decades, Blackpool has certainly seen its fair share of deep freezes.

As these pictures from The Gazette archives show, there were times over the years the resort was absolutely covered in a blanket of white stuff, as the mercury plummeted.

The snow fell particularly thick and hard during the 1940s, when twice Blackpool experienced huge snow-drifts of up to 8ft.

This picture shows all hands on deck to help remove snowdrifts in Newton Drive, in February 1940.

Men can be seen clearing a path through the snow for traffic – and the snow tower above them.

They don’t seem to be particularly wrapped up against the elements – most of them are not wearing hats or scarves!

And on Squires Gate Lane, in January 1940, men dig deep to clear the buried road outside the Halfway House pub.

The snow hit again in 1947.

This time Blackpool was plunged into temperatures as low as 24 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 4.4 C) and even the sea froze.

The whole of the country was affected – beer froze in barrels at a Wiltshire pub and the nation was crippled by power-cuts. People had to work by candlelight and millions were laid off as factories shut down.

The blackout returned to peace-time Britain and blizzards, swept by 40mph winds, brought the Fylde Coast to a standstill.

The modern ice age lasted for three long months, as Britain turned into Siberia.

Cars can be seen making their way through snow-covered roads in Abingdon Street, Blackpool, in this photograph from 1952.

People can be seen hurrying out of the falling snow. It seems in those days, a light covering of the white stuff didn’t stop life like now.

The men pictured in the photo from 1963 are certainly not letting the snow stop play, as they clear it away from Victoria Street in Blackpool town centre, to allow people easy access to the Winter Gardens.

Things did come to a grinding halt in this picture of a tram stuck in the snow at South Shore, in December 1981.

But children make the most of the winter weather in this picture from February 1981, as they build a snowman in Princess Street, Blackpool.