GRITTING teams have been out on Dorset’s roads working to keep the main network free of snow and ice.

Dorset County Council’s fleet of 30 salt-spreading vehicles were out yesterday afternoon and overnight on the various routes around the county.

The fleet went out at noon across the county and went out overnight as the weather forecast indicated that temperatures were going to drop and this could lead to the slush and snow freezing.

A spokesman for the council said: “We have a risk of everything freezing overnight as the temperatures are going to drop.”

The county council spread salt on 680 miles of road network during a county-wide gritting run, which normally takes two-and-a-half hours to complete.

Of the 2,500 miles of road in Dorset the county council salts the 25 per cent that carries 80 per cent of the traffic.

This includes all A, B and well-used C class roads, links to hospitals, industrial estates, transport interchanges, emergency service stations, routes to all urban schools with more than 500 pupils and rural schools with more than 350 pupils, primary bus routes and main routes through towns and villages with populations of more than 750.

The county council does not salt the A31 or the A35 west of Bere Regis as these are treated by, and are the responsibility of, the Highways Agency.

A spokesman for the council said: “The council holds 12,000 tonnes of salt in its depots.”