Gritters in action on Lancashire's roads ahead of snow front

Gritters are out on the county's roads ahead of a band of rain, sleet and snow due to hit the county

The Met Office has issued a yellow warning for snow, with the local forecast for Lancashire showing that patchy sleet and wet snow was due to move in from the west by around midday,

continuing during the afternoon and the evening with temperatures hovering around zero on high ground with the risk of ice.

It will turn dry overnight with temperatures rising above zero.

Lancashire’s highways teams are treating all the main gritting routes in the east of the county, and will be patrolling some of the routes in the north in case they are affected, with decisions to be made about gritting in other areas according to the lunchtime forecast.

A spokesman for Lancashire County Council said: “Our gritting crews are already treating routes in areas which forecasts show could be affected by this afternoon’s weather front.

“We’d ask people to leave extra time for their journeys, take care, and drive according to the conditions.

“This morning’s forecast is for any snow to only affect higher routes, however we will take any further action as necessary as the situation develops.”

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

For more information about gritting in Lancashire, and what you can do to prepare for winter, visit www.lancashire.gov.uk/winter, follow us on Twitter for news and updates at www.twitter.com/lancashirecc or Facebook www.facebook.com/lancashirecc.