Residents in Burnley, Pendle and the Ribble Valley can see where gritters are working thanks to live map from Lancashire County Council

Lancashire Gritting Live shows the location of each vehicle, while a trail of blue arrows indicates areas they have treated in the previous 18 hours.

A lot of gritting takes place overnight so this means people can see where on the network crews have been out. Gritting has been carried out daily during the current spell of freezing weather, with crews treating priority routes across the county since Christmas.

The Met Office has issued a yellow weather warning for snow which will be in place from 5pm this evening (Thursday, January 8) until noon tomorrow as Storm Goretti is expected to hit the UK. The warning covers Burnley, Nelson and Colne, with snowfall expected to develop overnight as rain turns to snow, particularly over higher ground.

The council publishes updates on its website whenever gritting operations take place. The live map adds to this by showing where gritters are on the network and which routes have recently been treated, all in one place. The map shows the council's 47 gritting routes in light brown, with each gritter identified by a yellow vehicle icon and its name.

County Coun. Warren Goldsworthy, cabinet member for highways and transport, said: "The map gives people a clearer picture of what’s happening on the road network during winter weather, showing where gritting is taking place and which routes have already been treated.

"Even after gritting, roads can remain icy in very low temperatures. Traffic is needed to help the salt work, which is why treated roads may still feel slippery at times."

Ten new gritters were added to the fleet this year and were named after a public competition. Additional shortlisted names have been given to older vehicles so that every gritter on the map can be easily identified. During the winter period, the council has up to 150 trained drivers available around the clock to go out.

Treating the county’s approximately 1,800 miles of priority roads takes up to four hours, although this can take longer during severe or prolonged weather. Drivers are asked to take extra care in freezing conditions, even on roads that have been treated.