Farmers help with gritting Doncaster as council defends its work to keep roads clear

Some have claimed on social media today that roads across the borough had not been gritted before the snow which has brought the borough to a halt with buses suspended this afternoon.

But the council has this afternoon put a statement on its own social media to confirm that the gritters had been out this morning, twice, and revealed that local farmers had later turned out to help in the task.

The council stated: “For those wondering what our gritters do when the weather’s like this, here’s what’s happened so far today…

“In the early hours, the first gritting began (we had to wait until the overnight rain had stopped, otherwise the grit gets washed away). Our full team of gritters were out.

“All the main routes were gritted.

“The team returned to the depot, got filled back up, and went out for a second time this morning to grit main routes (including outside all of our Covid vaccination centres).

“Once the main roads are OK, our gritters move onto the secondary routes. There is an issue however with the volume of traffic on the roads making it difficult for us to deal with hotspot areas we need to retreat/re-plough.

“Our street scene teams are now gritting and snow clearing priority footways. While local farmers are also assisting!

“Please stay safe on the roads and only go out if you REALLY need to.”

In these confusing and worrying times, local journalism is more vital than ever. Thanks to everyone who helps us ask the questions that matter by taking out a subscription or buying a paper. We stand together. Nancy Fielder, editor.