THE councillor in charge of gritting roads in Essex has said the priority today will be on the county's main routes.

James Hore

THE councillor in charge of gritting roads in Essex has said the priority today will be on the county's main routes.

Norman Hume, in charge of highways and transportation at Essex County Council, said: “Our dedicated winter service is continuing to work round-the-clock to cope with the icy conditions.

“In order to keep the county moving as effectively as possible we need to focus our efforts on the precautionary or primary network, and I would urge residents to only travel at this time if it is absolutely necessary.”

He said the county's fleet of 65 winter gritters had been operating at “full strength” throughout the night to treat more than 1,800 miles of the county's main roads.

Decisions on more runs will be taken during the day depending on forecasts from the council's weather service and readings from road side temperatures across the county.

Council leader, Lord Hanningfield, added: “Our county is being severely affected by the heavy snowfall and we are doing everything we can to ensure that essential services continue to operate at this time.”