A HARD-WORKING fleet of gritters is battling the elements to keep our roads safe and clear of ice and snow.

Staff at Newlands gritting depot in Malvern are playing a vital role in keeping the roads in and around the town moving despite the cold weather coming so early in the season.

The depot, one of six in Worcestershire, has a capacity of 900 tonnes of salt and covers roughly 1/6 of the 1,300km of precautionary gritting routes in the county. There is also a network of secondary routes and routes covered in conjunction with Herefordshire Council.

Jon Fraser, Worcestershire County Council’s highways customer and community manager, said the gritters in Malvern were dealing with the prolonged cold weather and stocks of salt were high.

He said: “We have been out most nights over the past few weeks but there has been no alternative. We have more salt than we have ever had, more than we would use in a usual season.”

He added: “We would like to say a big thanks to the guys who drive the gritters and grit the roads. They do a great job in difficult conditions and they are the people who keep the county moving.”

Each route takes three hours to complete and seven of the county’s 32 gritters operate from the Newlands depot.

The gritting normally takes place at about 7pm to avoid rush hour traffic and to ensure the grit is in place for the next day. Changes in the weather forecast are taken into account and the schedule can be altered accordingly.

The precautionary gritting routes were reviewed over the summer by the county council’s winter service manager taking into account any requests received or difficulties encountered during the previous winter.

As a result approximately 80 miles of road were added to the existing routes and an extra 150 grit boxes have been placed around the county, particularly where there are steep gradients, tight corners and sheltered housing for the elderly.

The annual budget for winter maintenance is about £1 million but the figure is very flexible and can be re-assessed and increased if it is a long, hard winter.

The salt used comes from Salt Union’s Winsford Hill salt mine in Cheshire, which lies about 200m under the ground. It is Britain’s oldest working mine. Stocks are bought in the summer but can be replenished when in demand.

When snow ploughs are deployed the workforce is doubled when the driver is joined in the cab by a ‘mate’.

For more information on gritting routes visit www.worcestershire.gov.uk and follow the transport and streets link and click on the gritting icon.

To keep up to date with all the latest gritting news follow the county council on Twitter at www.twitter.com/worcscc