Overnight blizzards keep gritters busy

HARD at it . . . A snow plough scythes drifts opposite the Rams Head at Denshaw on Saturday but the road closed again last night

A gritting taskforce battled overnight blizzards and snow drifts to keep major routes open today.

Searing winds caused whiteouts in parts of Saddleworth as clouds of snow pushed on to roads and lanes making driving a nightmare.

And although the Met Office downgraded their severe weather warning yesterday, Saddleworth remained in the grip of tough conditions overnight with several inches of snow falling on the hills.sw

The council’s armada of 10 gritters and combined snowploughs, eight JCBs and a snow blower tackled the blizzards head-on.

Oldham councillor Mark Alcock is confident his dedicated team will keep vital roads open — providing gritting supplies continue.

He said: “Saddleworth is the first place blizzards struck last night and felt the full fury of the elements. But we have no plans to change our current gritting strategy. We are focussed on keeping the main routes open and the borough moving.

“We are confident our special requirements to keep motorway and trans-pennine routes open will ensure our grit supplies are intact.

“As it stands, we are still receiving grit supplies and we are confident we will be OK.”

Meanwhile, the Rams Head on the A672 above Denshaw, linking the M62 motorway at Junction 22, opened briefly at the weekend — only to close again last night.

Stuart Haigh (23), who manages the business for his father Geoffrey said: “I’ve never seen anything like it.”