GRITTING teams have been put on stand-by as Worcestershire moves from Autumn to Winter.

Worcestershire County Council teams are ready with three new gritters being added to the fleet by the council with three more existing gritters to be updated as the season progresses.

More than 11,000 tonnes of salt has bene brought in and is ready to use, with the council filling all of the counties 1,320 grit bins to ensure they are ready.

Councillor Alan Amos, cabinet member for highways, said: "Our gritting teams are once again ready to go out and keep Worcestershire moving through the winter months.

"They do a fantastic job, working all hours to ensure the county’s roads remain open during the colder and icy weather.

"We always encourage our motorists to drive safely, and drive to the conditions, drive safely and carefully, but especially in adverse weather conditions, even when roads have been treated."

The Worcestershire Highways fleet of 32 gritting vehicles and the teams that drive them, cover Worcestershire's 1000 miles of designated roads.

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Last winter, the teams clocked up more than 50,000 miles across the county. That's the equivalent of more than twice around the world. Residents can report any issues on the roads including their grit bins via www.worcestershire.gov.uk/reportit.

The start of the gritting season also means the Twitter account for roads and highways @worcstravel will go into ‘#GritterTwitter’ mode, with a daily update on where and when the gritters are going out.

The first half of October, between October 1 and 13, saw England receive 87% of its monthly average rainfall, with the south east and central southern England having reaching 110 per cent of average by October 13th.

October 3, 2020 is now officially the wettest day on record, dating back to 1891.

According to the Met Office, the rest of October is likely to follow a similar unsettled pattern.