Dedicated road crews have been out across North Ayrshire with their snowploughs – before there is even a hint of snow in the air.

North Ayrshire Council undertook its annual ‘dry run’ to ensure their fleet of snow clearing and gritting vehicles are well prepared in advance of the winter weather.

The test run enables staff to carry out essential preparatory checks on equipment and vehicles, as well as familiarise themselves with gritting routes.

Councillor Jim Montgomerie, Cabinet Member for Place, said: “This is an invaluable exercise which allows the team to make sure we are well positioned to deal with both ice and snowfall.

“We take our responsibility as Roads Authority very seriously and put in an enormous amount of effort to ensure that priority roads and footways are kept clear and safe during winter. Our team has robust plans in place and I’m confident that we’re well prepared.”

A squad of 35 drivers and 15 multi-purpose vehicles will be available 24/7 to keep the area’s priority routes in use throughout winter. These round-the-clock measures will be in place from late October right through to mid-April.

The council will also be on-call over weekends and public holidays from November to February to help treat main footways in the event of ice and frost.

Arrangements are also in place with local contractors and farmers to call upon their assistance in case of severe weather conditions.

Some 7000 tonnes of road salt is currently stocked at the council’s mainland storage depot in Kilwinning, and will be taking delivery of a further 1,600 tonnes to be stockpiled at the depot at Brodick in Arran.

Scotland Transerv is responsible for any issues on the trunk roads in North Ayrshire (A78, A737 and A738).

Scotland Transerv can be contacted on 0141 218 3800 or www.scotlandtranserv.co.uk/contact