CUMBRIA Highways staff are gearing up for winter weather with plans to supply grit to parish councils.

After last year’s bad winter, the county council has set up a small group of senior officers to monitor the situation and react to the weather circumstances as they develop.

In addition to having the fleet of around 30 gritters on 24-hour standby to treat priority routes around the county if ice and snow are forecast, the 10,000 salt heaps and bins across Cumbria are in the process of being topped up and this is set to be completed by the end of the week.