Gritting cut by 25% as more snow heads for Britain
BRITAIN was on the brink of running out of salt last night as the Government feebly conceded defeat in its battle against the big freeze.
Transport Secretary Lord Adonis issued emergency orders to councils and the Highways Agency to slash consumption by 25 per cent.
Gritting of motorway hard shoulders has already stopped in a desperate effort to preserve supplies, raising the prospect of the country’s road network grinding to a halt.
Stocks on order from abroad will not arrive for at least another 12 days.
With forecasters predicting fresh falls of snow this weekend, furious critics accused ministers of losing control of events. The death toll from the big freeze, which saw temperatures plunge as low as -22.3C on Thursday night, rose yesterday to at least 25.
Two brothers died in hospital after falling through the ice at Watermead Country Park in Leicestershire. Britain is set for more severe weather this weekend with temperatures plunging to -18C in some parts. Sporting fixtures have been badly hit.
The Tories last night pointed out that a report last August recommended a big build-up of salt supplies after stocks nearly ran out during last February’s cold snap. But it took until mid-December for ministers to order councils to act.
Shadow Local Government Secretary Caroline Spelman said: “This is an admission of utter failure. The lessons of last February’s extreme weather have not been learnt. The Government appears to be rapidly losing control of the situation.”
Any breakdown in the motorway network would raise the prospect of some areas running low on food and cause billions of pounds of damage to the economy.
The Local Government Association said councils would take “prudent measures” to reduce use, including restricting gritting to priority road networks.
But a spokesman warned last night that salt is ineffective against ice below -8C (18F).
He said: “If it gets colder than that at the weekend you could dump the entire world’s supply of salt on the roads and it wouldn’t help.”
Paul Watters, head of roads policy at the AA, said untreated hard shoulders could endanger drivers and rescue teams called out to repair vehicles.
He said: “It’s now into nightmare territory. We would have very serious concerns if the main roads iced up and heaven forbid the motorways – then we’d really be in trouble.”
Salt mines in Cheshire and North Yorkshire are already operating flat out.
Cheshire’s Winsford mine, which produces most of the country’s supplies, said it has only a few days’ supply of salt available for immediate delivery. The rest has to be mined.
