The touch of hell

The village of Shepthorne wasn't being gripped, but strangled by winter's blanket of snow and Arctic temperatures. The trouble began with a massive pile-up on the frozen roads, and a fireball of exploding petrol as a truck collided with a tanker in the garage forecourt. Then, from the sky, a huge military transport with its cargo of devastation crashed down towards the village. Hell was just beginning to touch Shepthorne.