Gritters on standby as cold snap takes hold

Gritters will be out in force this weekend as a cold snap takes hold of Britain, councils say.

Highways bosses have stockpiled 1.2 million tonnes of salt, according to the Local Government Association (LGA), with temperatures set to plummet and snow and sleet creating hazards on the roads.

About half of the UK's council's are at the limit of grit storage capacity.

More than 80% of councils have already placed grit bins for residents to use and the gritting fleets for most areas are armed with state-of-the-art GPS technology.

Cllr Peter Box, the LGA environment spokesman, said councils would constantly monitor weather reports to stay one step ahead of the icy conditions.

But he warned: "Council staff can't be everywhere. They rely on community-spirited residents to look out for each other."

Mr Box encouraged residents to conduct welfare checks on elderly neighbours.

He said: "They may just need an extra blanket getting down from the loft or perhaps they didn't get out to collect their medicine this week."

Mr Box added: "It takes no time to check in but could potentially save lives."