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Pledge over gritting of icy roads
GRITTING chiefs insist roads in Blackpool and across the county have been treated against icy conditions, despite claims from furious drivers.
The assurances come after some drivers claimed many routes were treacherous early on Monday.
Yesterday, temperatures once again dropped to freezing leaving, among other places, the lake in Stanley Park frozen over.
Motorist Derek Whittaker, from Poulton, was among the drivers who slammed poor conditions.
He said: "Around Shaftsbury Avenue and Gynn Square the roads were really bad as well as in parts of Poulton and Fleetwood. There was no sign of any grit on the road and even the buses were struggling to get round corners.
"I saw a few minor bumps and some near misses."
Road bosses have pledged gritters will be dispatched when and where necessary if the cold snap continues.
Blackpool Council said gritters were out from 9am until 2pm, and then from 6pm until midnight on Monday. They were due back out from 6pm yesterday until 2am today as the cold weather continued.
Jez Evans, manager of Streetscene at Blackpool Council, said gritters had been deployed on the main routes on Monday as soon as problems were identified.
He said: "Last week the gritters never stopped and if the roads need gritting they will be gritted.
"We will be checking the weather for the rest of the week and ordering more grit in if we need it. We will even send our own haulage vehicles to collect it if necessary.
"People say they don't see the gritters but we mainly do it through the night so they can get round the routes and through the traffic."
Mr Evans said the council had received 300 tonnes of grit on Christmas Eve and had ordered another 300 tonnes yesterday.
A county council spokes-man said Lancashire's main routes were clear and would continue to be monitored.
He said: "All routes have been kept clear with people working over Christmas salting and inspecting.
"We are concentrating on the main routes throughout the county, which are A and B roads and a selection of other main roads, so we can target our resources where they are needed most."
Further inspections were carried out last night and more were due this morning.
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Weather for Blackpool
Sunday 27 May 2012
Today
Sunny
Temperature: 13 C to 25 C
Wind Speed: 15 mph
Wind direction: East
Tomorrow
Sunny
Temperature: 12 C to 22 C
Wind Speed: 15 mph
Wind direction: South west
