UK starts gritting roads as first snow cover hits

London

AS the first snow cover of winter hit large areas of England and Wales, an army of gritting trucks started the task of spreading up to two million tonnes of salt on more than 128,750 km of roadways. Weather forecasters have warned of "treacherous" driving conditions across most of Britain.

The Salt Association, the official voice of Britain's salt producing industry, says that the cost of adding salt to major roads, as well as town and city centres in England and Wales adds up to £150 million (S$309 million) over the winter. But the association says delays caused by not salting roads to keep traffic moving would cost the economy £2 billion a year.