WITH the winter approaching, Cornwall’s gritters are on standby to deal with forecasts for ice and snow.

Having put together the annual winter service plan, the Cornwall Council and CORMAC are reminding members of the public to make sure that they drive safely according to the road and weather conditions.

The council is responsible for more than 7,520 kilometres (4,530 miles) of roads – one of the largest road networks in the country – ranging from principal roads to narrow country lanes.

Last year the authority spent £1m keeping Cornwall’s roads safe during the winter with the fleet of gritting lorries using 5,300 tonnes of salt on the 53 days when gritting took place.

The authority carries out precautionary salting on 25 routes covering around 1,400 km (875 miles) of the road network, including the most heavily trafficked A and B roads in Cornwall which, between them, are responsible for around 85 per cent of traffic movements.

On behalf of the council, CORMAC also treats the roads to key sites such as hospitals, minor injury units, ambulance and fire stations, bus stations and secondary schools.

The route to Liskeard Railway Station is also included in the gritting schedule as well as the roads to health or community centres including Callington and Gunnislake.

The A38 and the A30, which are the main trunk roads through Cornwall, are the responsibility of Highways England which manages its own winter service.

The council will be using Twitter (@CornwallCouncil) to provide information about disruptions to services such as school closures caused by snow as well as posting the information on its website, www.cornwall. gov.uk.