WHEN the county was blanketed in snow earlier this month, the county council’s highways teams were out keeping the roads clear.

The highway’s crews covered 1,000 miles of primary routes and another 700 miles of roads each time they went out.

Collectively, the 29 gritters covered the distance to Australia and back, making 435 runs in the process.

When gritting, crews typically spread 150 tonnes each salt run. That’s equivalent to the amount of salt used on 300 million portions of fish & chips.

Although the snow has now cleared and a warmer spell of weather is with us, the crews are still on call 24/7 to respond to low temperatures.

As a Christmas treat to residents, the crews at Stroudwater Depot off Junction 13 of the M5 came together to record a version of ‘New York, New York’.

You can see the video here: https://youtu.be/NwKXT6U-oXc Cllr Vernon Smith, cabinet member for highways at Gloucestershire County Council used to drive gritters himself and knows all about the dedication involved.

He said: “I know from personal experience what the crews do for us when the cold weather kicks in.

“You’re on call 24/7 and can be called at a moment’s notice to get out to salt the roads. I’ve even had to stop eating my Christmas dinner half way through, so it does take real commitment from the staff.

“I’m incredibly grateful to all our staff throughout the year, and would like to wish them a very Merry Christmas.”

For updates on where we’re gritting and when, please follow @GlosRoads.