Mother and son recued from snowfall in Italy

A thick blanket of snow continues to disrupt life in parts of central and northern Italy.

On Monday, firefighters were forced to launch a helicopter mission to rescue a woman and her young son trapped in their home.

The pair found themselves stuck in their house in the small mountainous village of Filettino, in central Italy, after heavy snowfall.

And on Tuesday, firefighters in Santo Stefano Di Cadore, in the northern alpine province of Belluno, used small bulldozers to clear roads.

Officials said firefighters had carried out more than 300 operations to get traffic moving again.

Italy's Civil Protection agency has forecast more snow for the next few days in northern and central areas higher than 500 metres.