Busy time for gritters

VOLUNTEERS in Sonning Common have spread 600kg of gritting salt this winter.

The village’s snow team were called out six times to clear pavements in Wood Lane, the alleyways between Wood Lane and Grove Road and the area outside Sonning Common Primary School.

The team, which is
co-ordinated by parish councillor Dirk Jones, has two gritting machines, which are actually fertiliser spreaders.

Councillor Jones uses his own weather station to forecast the weather five days in advance.

It includes an artificial pavement to measure temperatures above and below ground using 12 sensors.

He then decides whether to grit based on the temperatures and the type of snow or sleet and how likely it is to stick to the ground.

For more information, visit www.sonningcommonweb.co.uk