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Walsall Council digging in to tackle bleak winter weather

True grit - and plenty of it - is going to get us through what forecasters say will be a record cold winter with heavy snowfall.

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Stockpiles of the beige stuff - about 3,000 tons of it in fact - have been built up by Walsall Council alone, with a fleet of gritters ready to take to the streets as temperatures plummet.

The Apex Road depot in Brownhills has had teams of staff go out over the past few weeks replenishing around 230 grit bins dotted around the borough.

Tarmac and council staff begin the preparations for Operation Snowfall with 3,000 tons of grit

Gritting routes in Walsall were also given a test drive at the weekend, as the council gears up to its official winter maintenance season on November 1.

Meanwhile bookies have slashed the odds of a white Christmas from 5/1 to 2/1 because the global El Niño weather phenomenon looks to be its strongest ever, resulting in soaring temperatures in the Pacific Ocean and the knock on effect of sub-zero temperatures in Britain and the rest of Europe.

Engineering and Transport Group Manager Paul Leighton and Councillor Adrian Andrews begin the preparations for Operation Snowfall with 3,000 tons of grit

Met Office weather forecaster Tomasz Schafernaker said: "This time round El Nino could be the strongest in decades.

"In Europe sometimes winters end up much colder and drier and last much into spring. In 2010 the El Nino played a part in bringing huge amounts of snow to the UK."

In Walsall, transport bosses dub the gritting plan Operation Snowfall and send out crews from private company Tarmac to cover 267 miles of roads in the borough.

Operation Snowfall prepares to test driving routes

Around 100 volunteers, dramatically dubbed 'snow champions', will clear snow and ice from paths and footways to protect vulnerable members of the community.

They have been to collect their council-issued salt bags from the salt barn.

Walsall Council's deputy leader, Councillor Adrian Andrew said: "It's been a typically mild October but as the weather gets colder later on, we'll be working hard to keep the roads moving.

"Our colleagues at Tarmac are ready to hit the road and this weekend gave them the opportunity of a dry run to make sure everything runs smoothly.

"Last year our crews went out 59 times and spread 1.6 tons of grit.

"We have a plan in place and we'll continue to keep people informed through our social media channels of when gritters are out as well as for other weather-related updates such as school closures or disruption to our bin collection service."

Steve Chapman, contract manager at Tarmac, added: "Our experienced team will be working hard to keep Walsall's roads safely moving when winter conditions arrive later in the year.

"The opportunity to test our winter service plan means that local residents can be assured we're fully prepared for the colder weather."

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