Ice warning as gritting efforts continue

Lancashire County Council's gritting teams will be gritting again this evening before temperatures fall well below zero, and patrolling throughout the night in case further gritting is needed to cope with wintry showers forecast.

The Met Office has issued yellow weather warnings for snow and ice covering Lancashire until a thaw expected to arrive on Friday.

The council's gritting teams have again been treating the approximately 1,500 miles of the county council's priority road network today following the snow which arrived overnight on Monday.

County Councillor Rupert Swarbrick, cabinet member for highways and transport, said: "Our gritting teams have been very busy over the past 24 hours, with yesterday's action ensuring that the main routes cleared quickly this morning once the early morning traffic mixed the salt already on the roads with the snow which followed.

"They've been busy again today as the snow showers continued in many areas throughout this morning, with a particular focus on the higher routes which were most affected by the snowfall.

"We're expecting things to be very icy over the next couple of days as the skies clear, and temperatures fall well below zero at night, and stay near freezing throughout the day.

"There could also be showers at times, which could create difficult conditions on any road or pavement as it turns to ice on contact with the freezing surface, particularly if any salt we've put down has been washed away in the process.

"This is why our teams will be patrolling continually over the coming hours to try to keep the main routes as safe as possible, however please be aware that any surface could be icy, even on the main routes which we'll be gritting. Untreated surfaces could be particularly treacherous, and I'd ask people to be very careful on their journeys, particularly first thing in the morning."

Lancashire County Council has a fleet of 45 frontline gritters which can treat the approximately 1,500 miles of the county council's priority road network within around four hours, but may take longer in severe weather.

People who live on or near a gritting route are asked to park considerately and leave room for the gritters to get past, as poor parking often causes problems and can lead to routes not being fully treated.

People are also asked not to use more salt and sand from the county's almost 3,000 roadside grit bins than they need to, as they can only be refilled when resources are available, and keeping the main routes clear always has to be the top priority.

You can find out more about gritting in Lancashire, including which roads are gritted, and what you can do to prepare at lancashire.gov.uk/winter. You can also get the latest gritting updates and winter weather advice by searching #LancsWinter on X.