GLOUCESTERSHIRE County Council have been sending out gritters on a practice run in preparation for cold weather.

A fleet of 33 gritters have been travelling around the County since yesterday for their first practice run.

The gritters are travelling the routes they would need to in order to treat all primary routes against the forecasted sub zero road temperature. This includes all A, B and some C roads and routes to emergency services like hospitals and fire stations as well as most frequent bus routes.

Teams will also be inspecting the winter maintenance equipment and be briefed on this year’s winter response plans.

This year the county is starting winter with just over 11,000T of salt following the opening of a new salt dome in Cirencester last year.

Cabinet member for highways and flood, Vernon Smith, said, “Our road crews are the first line of defence in winter weather, and they put in tremendous effort battling against the elements around the clock to keep the county moving.

“Gloucestershire County Council is preparing for winter and this is our first step, but we encourage you get preparing too. When the weather turns cold please drive safely and look out for each other.”

Last year, Gloucestershire County Council gritting teams completed an average of 62 gritting runs, and used just over 8,000T of salt.