WITH flood waters subsiding and the Met Office forecasting snow over the weekend, Worcester shire County Council is getting ready to meet the challenge of keeping the roads open.

The highways department's depot at Newland at the edge of Malvern has been readying its fleet of gritters and snowplough-equipped vehicles to make sure that roads large and small remain passable.

County councillor Paul Tuthill said: "Our team has a variety of vehicles and gadgets to tackle all types of jobs, from hand-pushed gritters for pavements and footpaths to the big Mercedes for gritting the A roads.

"The crew at this depot has responsibility for the whole of South Worcestershire so we have made sure they have the equipment they need."

The stock of vehicles also includes a Land Rover with demountable gritting unit and a versatile Multihog all-terrain vehicle, which can be used for gritting in winter and grass-cutting in summer.