Grit stockpiled as snow and floods hit region

Arctic temperatures began to sweep across the country yesterday and up to eight inches of snow was expected last night, with forecasters predicting equally difficult conditions to last year's winter – the most extreme for three decades.

But while residents and authorities across the UK were preparing for snow, sandbags were being issued in Scarborough. Last night, the town was the only UK area facing an Environment Agency's "flood watch" alert.

That deluge came as salt stockpiles reached their highest-ever levels at many councils. Across the region, than 200,000 tonnes is in store.

Gritting routes have been adjusted and new technologies are being harnessed to try to keep Yorkshire's roads open.

But some authorities are not sure how long thousands of tonnes of grit will last, saying this would be determined by snow falls and how low temperatures go.

Yorkshire could see a "significant" snow fall in the coming days and temperatures down to minus 4C next week, experts said.

Last year's length cold spell cost the region more than 11m in repairing 180,000 potholes. The national backlog in fixing roads is estimated at almost 10bn.

Leeds Council said its 24,000 tonnes of grit would be enough for 120 runs of salt spreading in snowy conditions, when only 102 runs were required last winter.

"We are devising some new salt saving routes," a spokesman added. "These will effectively reduce the number of roads we grit and therefore save on salt."

Calderdale Council was forced to ration its salt supplies last January until emergency help arrived – and has trebled its amount in store this year to 17,000 tonnes.

Kirklees Council, which faced a similar predicament, has 25,000 tonnes in stock. Road users will this year get live winter updates on using Twitter.

A spokesman said communities should make use of the 1,250 grit bins across the district and not fear being sued in the event of an accident if roads remain icy – a concern aired last winter by those who did not clear ice and snow.

The Department for Transport said it is very unlikely people would face legal challenge after accidents as long as they are careful and "use common sense".

Wakefield Council said it had enough grit for 17 days of severe weather – double the Government's recommended stock.

West Yorkshire authorities will also benefit from a mutual aid agreement to share resources if necessary.

North Yorkshire County Council has 55,000 tonnes of salt grit ready in 12 depots, 93 gritters, five snow-blowers and 130 farmers or contractors to help clear roads.

Boulby Potash Mine, in North Yorkshire, which mines salt as a subsidiary product, supplies many local authorities with grit.

Some councils warned the weather could determine how long salt supplies would last.

East Riding Council said it had increased its replenishment levels from last year but would not reveal how much salt it had in stock.

North Lincolnshire said how long its 3,881 tonnes of salt in supply would last depends on the weather, but confirmed its depot in Scunthorpe is at full capacity.

The 9,000 tonnes of grit held in two depots by Barnsley Council is the most it has ever held. But a spokesman warned that if conditions were worse than expected, all councils would be jockeying for 250,000 tonnes of salt imported by the Government.

He said: "If Barnsley were to run low there would be many other authorities in the same position and we would be dependant upon how the Government views the distribution of supplies as to how we would be restocked."

Freeze triggers heating payment

The first cold weather payments of the winter were triggered yesterday, as bitterly cold temperatures hit areas of the UK.

Almost 80,000 households will each receive 25 over the next few days to help fund the cost of keeping their homes warm during the cold weather.

The payments are made when the average temperatures are recorded or forecast to be zero degrees or lower for seven days in a row.

About four million people are potentially eligible.