New gritting vehicles will spread thousands of tonnes of salt over Swindon’s roads during the winter.

The borough council is making its final preparations for the upcoming months of wet and frosty weather and has replaced the old fleet of lorries that had reached the end of their life.

The local authority’s gritting team will be on alert 24 hours a day to grit priority routes which cover around 210 miles of the borough’s 520-mile road network, and be on hand to plough roads if there is heavy snow.

Eight new vehicles will be on standby to deal with the worst of the weather using a 2,000-tonne stockpile of salt.

It takes 25 tonnes of salt to treat the many miles of roads on the gritting routes each time the team goes out during freezing temperatures - and more than double that when it snows.

Each run costs around £2,500 for all vehicles and drivers, so it must be only done when necessary.

To make sure resources aren’t wasted, the team relies on a radar and temperature system that informs them when colder weather is approaching and is likely to settle overnight.

Emergency planning procedures are also in place and staff in many service areas will be placed on standby in the event of severe weather.

Residents can find out more information about the gritting service by visiting www.swindon.gov.uk and are being encouraged to check their local salt bin, if they have one, to make sure it has been restocked and not damaged.

Councillor Chris Watts, Swindon Borough Council’s Cabinet member for the environment and transport, said: “As ever, our amazing winter weather team is ready to leap into action at a moment’s notice.

“The call can come at any time, which is why we have our winter weather procedures in place to deal with any incidents of severe weather.

“We have invested in our gritting fleet and have stocked up on as much salt as we feel we will need, but we always have contingency plans if the weather forecasts turn out worse than we are expecting.

“Our crews will always do their best to keep our residents safe and roads as accessible and safe as possible.”

Further information on council services in an emergency or during adverse weather will be available on the council’s social media accounts and through the Your Swindon newsletter available at www.swindon.gov.uk/newsletter.

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