IAN FENWICK LAWTON cannot remember when he last had a lie-in. While most of us are snuggling under the duvet during York’s coldest spell in 20 years, Ian’s alarm clock breaks the snowy-morning silence with a piercing shrill.

He doesn’t need to look at the time; it is 2am, the same as it was yesterday and the day before, and come to think of it, the day before that.

He draws back the curtains and takes a tentative peek at the workload brought by the new day. Again, there is snow on the cars; it’s been an all too familiar sight these last few weeks.

Ian is about to do battle with the weather as one of York’s 30 gritting lorry drivers. But he is a bit cross. He has worked seven-day weeks – and he’ll be doing another one if the forecast is correct. He is annoyed because despite round-the-clock gritting, the city council has come in for some stick since the icy conditions arrived.

He says: “I was driving back the other day and I heard someone phone the radio station saying the gritters hadn’t been out again.

“But we’d already been out for three hours by then; it riled me did that. One of our lads phoned the radio to say ‘yes we have.’ The trouble is we’re out really early at the moment, while people are asleep. Just because they don’t see us doesn’t mean we haven’t done our job.”

Not many will be awake when Ian takes to the road at 3am and while his tyres may have a deep tread, the weight of the lorry can make early runs treacherous.

“Sometimes it’s horrendous. You find yourself sliding and can feel the truck going on the bends. It can be scary out there first thing in the morning.”

The council tracks all of its nine gritters when they are out. Staff use sophisticated equipment to monitor spread patterns, the rate of flow and even any blockages.

More importantly, they can detect if a truck has stopped. A phone call to the driver establishes whether he needs to be rescued. So far, City of York Council has spread more than 3,000 tonnes of salt during the big freeze, with more arriving last night Andy Binner, acting head of highway infrastructure, said: “The priority has to be the main routes in and out of York. We have ten gritting routes and use lorries for the main roads and a pick-up with a trailer spreader for side streets which have difficult access.

“Fifty per cent of our roads are gritted which I think compares well with most other councils who achieve 30 to 40 per cent.”

But many residents are unhappy; a lack of salt on the pavements and frozen side-roads are the biggest causes for complaint.

“We have been working flat out just to keep the main roads and bus routes clear,” says Andy. “They are the priority and so far we’ve had to treat all of them 70 times to keep them usable.

“I’m afraid that salting the pavements just once wouldn’t have been enough and much as we would like to grit everywhere in the same way it has not been possible; we would have run out of salt by now.”

The city has 233 salt bins; it used to have only 100 a couple of years ago, but ward committees stepped in to fund more. Andy says they have all been refilled three times since the cold snap began. Letter writers to The Press have criticised cost-cutting as well as accusing the council of failing to order enough salt. The mood among many in York is that the council failed to prepare – despite the forecast of appalling weather.

Andy rejects the claim. “We order salt in the summer and our central depot was completely full by July. I must stress that winter maintenance is our number one priority. Every time the road temperature drops to zero degrees we send out the gritters.

“We would normally expect to grit 65 times between November and March, but we have been out 70 times already.”

So far it has cost about £360,000.

Salt is being rationed nationwide, but York has supplemented its quota from “other sources”. “It’s not a question of money,” says Andy, “When gritting is required the funds will be found. If necessary, we will declare an overspend at the end of the season and pay it off from contingency funds.”

The decision to grit is based on forecast and actual road temperatures. The council has three weather stations in York and the data tells Andy and his team precisely when the temperature will fall to zero. Crews are then put on standby and sent out two-and-a-half hours before the freezing conditions arrive. Time enough to treat the city’s major routes.

A common misconception is that gritting trucks lie idle during the summer. In fact, the lorries are used every day for highway maintenance; a rig converts them into gritters when, as now, they are required.

The first run is normally at 4.30am. Of late, conditions have been so dire that drivers like Ian have been sent out much earlier. Yesterday morning the first crews went out at midnight. Then they returned to the depot and waited for the snow. It began to fall at 4.40am and so out they went again. A third run was despatched at 7am and the operation continued until the snow stopped falling.

To see how it worked at first hand, I joined Ian on the late shift. He has been assigned a run along the cul-de-sacs of Tang Hall, but first stop is the salt-bin in James Street to fill-up the lorry’s hopper.

Salt is treated with a by-product of the sugar industry which gives better adherence. It also means that less salt is required to give the same effect. Ian will spread almost seven tonnes during the run.

The traffic is quiet as we turn into Temple Avenue. Before gritting, Ian switches on the amber light; it flashes a reassuring glow across the street as the murky afternoon turns to evening.

He sets the salt flow on the console; it reads “spread”. The truck’s rear lights illuminate the ice beneath and help him confirm on the cab’s TV monitor that salt is flowing. Ian can set the spreader to the left, right or centre. He normally selects right because it will cast salt on to both carriageways.

His lorry has a limiter which restricts its speed to 30mph; any faster and the salt will spread unevenly.

“It doesn’t matter whether I am stuck in traffic or moving, because the computer takes care of the flow and keeps it exactly as I have set it. If you look here on the console, we also have a blast button. I press it when I see a really icy patch to dump even more salt.”

That is where Ian’s experience counts. He has been gritting the roads around York for seven years and he knows all the bad spots.

“I just blast them; it soon gets rid of the ice. The biggest problem for us is rain which washes the salt away.”

We turn into another side street and Ian’s truck is a welcome sight. Relieved residents wave; he smiles, it helps after all the complaints.

Back at the depot, I leave Ian and his mates to continue York’s round-the-clock vigil, saying: “You’ll be glad to see the back of this ice won’t you?”

He shrugs his shoulders and smiles, resigned to the fact that he will only get a respite when the weather turns milder.

• City of York Council had two gritting runs planned for last night and this morning, at 7.30pm and 4.30am even if no snow fell.


City of York gritting and snow clearance policy

From November to March, certain roads will be salted when weather forecasts predict icy conditions.

The council’s stated aim is to allow vehicles to move safely on the roads, however snow and ice clearance work is limited by the resources available.

• Snow

If it snows, further salting is carried out. Ploughing takes place if 50mm of snow has fallen. Priority is given to the inner and outer ring roads and the roads connecting them.

• Footpaths

The council treats priority footpaths including areas of the city centre, depending on how bad the weather. Other well-used footpaths will be cleared and treated when resources are available. Currently pavements outside post offices, schools, sheltered housing care homes and bus stops are being treated.

• Salt bins

The council provides salt bins at various locations for residents to use on footpaths. The bins are inspected and filled throughout the winter. If you find a bin that needs filling, phone 01904 551551.

• Cycle routes

Off-road council cycle routes are treated with grit sand in the early stages of winter and then monitored to see if further treatment is necessary.

• Car parks

Car parks are not routinely salted. Entrances and exits are cleared following heavy snow when resources are available.

• The council’s gritting network route can be found at york.gov.uk