Wiltshire Council's fleet of gritters is being prepared for the incoming icy months of winter

A fleet of yellow gritting trucks with their orange beacons on. They are lined up in a row at night.

A council has urged motorists to remember that many minor roads will not be salted during the winter months.

Wiltshire Council said its gritting teams were called into action 41 times, spreading around 4,500 tonnes of salt and treating approximately 31,000 miles of road across Wiltshire last year.

Council leader Ian Thorn said its priority is to make key A and B roads safe first because they carry the highest volumes of traffic.

The authority said that people should never assume a road has been treated and should drive according to the conditions.

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The council currently has around 11,500 tonnes of salt stored across six locations.

It also maintains more than 1,600 salt bins for use on public roads and footpaths.

"Our priority is to keep Wiltshire's key routes safe and usable during winter weather. When temperatures drop below freezing, we concentrate on major A and B roads first because they carry the highest volumes of traffic," he said.

"However, residents should remember that many minor roads are not routinely salted."

He said that some roads are only salted during extended periods of severe winter weather.

"Keeping our communities connected and safe remains a key priority, and winter preparation is an important part of that," he said.

The council said it will send its fleet of gritters out over the coming weeks for pre-winter test runs.

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A large yellow gritter truck with a bed overflowing full of sand, salt and grit. It is parked inside a large metal warehouse with white overhead lighting. Behind the truck there is a pile of grit.