GRITTERS who have kept motorists safe from treacherous ice and snow are standing down after a busy winter.

As daffodils bloom and the Easter holidays begin, 'tis the season for Oxfordshire County Council teams to take a break from salt spreading.

Since October 2018 the crews have been out on Oxfordshire’s roads 39 times, covering a total of 47,016 miles – just under twice the circumference of the Earth – spreading more than 7,400 tonnes of salt.

During each gritting run the council's teams salt about 1,200 miles - the equivalent of travelling from London to Iceland - covering 43 per cent of the county's road network.

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The last day of the season this year was on Friday, but crews will now not be deployed until October - unless the weather takes an unexpected turn.

Sean Rooney, Oxfordshire County Council's service lead for highway maintenance, said: "Our gritting team have again done an excellent job throughout the winter.

"Every year they deal with whatever the weather has to throw at them and make sure that the salt gets out on the roads. 

"And we must not forget that they also have day jobs helping to maintain and fix Oxfordshire’s roads – they are a hard-working and committed bunch.

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"I'd like to thank everyone for the work that they do during the harshest of weathers and often in the middle of the night when most people are still in bed, so that we can get where we need to be safely."

The council's gritting team numbers 28 including drivers and support staff, who work out of depots at Drayton and Deddington, and a smaller satellite depot in Woodcote.