COUNCIL chiefs have insisted gritting won't be watered down in Worcestershire despite budget pressures.

With the cold season approaching, Worcestershire County Council has published a new 'Winter Service Policy' spelling out what it can offer the public.

Its publication has sparked concern from the opposition Labour group, with its leader saying schools need more focus.

But the Conservative leadership has categorically refuted that any reductions are underfoot, describing the policy 'refresh' as a tidying-up exercise.

The last time the council updated its strategy for the winter was back in 2009, with more technology and better tactics for dealing with the cold since coming forward.

The latest policy was endorsed during a meeting of the Tory cabinet at County Hall.

Councillor Marcus Hart, cabinet member for highways, said: "This policy is in no way whatsoever a diminution or reduction in the level of service - we are not going to grit less roads.

"Huge swathes of the county are in rural locations and we need to be realistic about where we can grit and how quickly we can grit, but of course all the main routes by schools and hospitals are catered for."

The council lists some roads as 'priority' ones which are done first, including all main carriageways and routes serving public transport and hospitals, then a list of 'secondary' ones which are tended to later on.

Councillor Peter McDonald, opposition Labour group leader, said: "Five hundred metres away from a school is ridiculous when we know more people drive.

"We all know in this chamber how we can't stop parents from taking their children into school using cars, they should be priority routes, not secondary ones."

Councillor Hart said the Labour leader may be "confused", telling him schools are gritted within a 500-metre radius "from its principal route" rather than 500 metres away from it.

Almost all schools are on bus routes anyway so automatically come under the 'priority' gritting zones.

Councillor Simon Geraghty, the leader, said: "The central thrust of this report is to clarify the policy, it's not a reduction in gritting routes."

The revised policy includes a focus on closer working with district, parish and town councils, as well as making note of the current equipment used and updates to road infrastructure.

In recent years dozens of town halls around Britain have cut back on gritting with their budgets shrinking, but the county council has looked elsewhere for savings.