Our Gritting Team are ready to keep Barnsley’s 321 miles of primary gritting routes moving this winter. Our teams will be on standby around the clock until the end of April, ready to head out and grit main routes day or night.

Swowbi-Wan Kenobi, Sir Steve Ploughton, and Buzz Ice Clear will be back on the road alongside our other newly named gritters.

Last year, we used 6,170 tonnes of grit salt, deployed our gritters to grit our routes 729 times, and travelled 28,500 miles across Barnsley. Last October to February we saw very cold temperatures with lots of rain, sleet, and frost. In March, temperatures were as low as minus six degrees, with ice and snowfall up to 30-40cm.

Our salt domes are full, our newly named fleet of gritters are ready, and we’re prepared once again for whatever weather the colder months might bring. We’ll be monitoring our weather stations around the borough, which along with specialised daily forecasts let us know when we need to head out and grit the roads. We also monitor air and road temperatures, rainfall, road moisture, cloud cover, wind direction, and residual salt.

Hagrit, Snowbody's Perfect and Licence to Chill will also be out alongside Snowy McSnowPlough and Sir David Scattenborough. If you see our gritters out and about, don’t forget to give them a wave.

You can also follow @BarnsleyCouncil or search #SYgrit on Facebook for local gritting updates, winter road safety tips, and more.

Cllr James Higginbottom, Cabinet Spokesperson for Environment and Highways, said: “Winter is coming and Barnsley Council’s Gritting Team is stood by to keep our borough’s roads clear from snow and ice.

“Last year our teams did a fantastic job of keeping our roads safe and moving. They’re ready once again to face whatever this winter brings.

“Please don’t forget to take care when travelling in cold weather, check that your vehicle is winter."

For more information on gritting routes and grit bin locations, visit barnsley.gov.uk/gritting.