SNOW drifts up to 5ft deep failed to stop milk tankers reaching farms in Wensleydale.

Drivers working for The Wensleydale Creamery, in Hawes, North Yorkshire, did not miss a single pick-up from farms or delivery to retailers, despite the Arctic conditions.

Dairy farmers in some parts of the country had to pour away thousands of gallons of milk when snow and ice saw their collections cancelled.

But, despite Wensleydale being under 14in of snow, the tankers got through to all 50 plus small family farms which supply milk for the creamery’s Real Yorkshire Wensleydale Cheese.

David Hartley, managing director, said: “We are pleased that we have managed to maintain business as usual despite the wintry weather.

“This has been a real team effort with our farmer suppliers playing their part, if necessary, to help the tankers get to their farms including clearing farm tracks to enable the drivers to carry out the milk collection.”

The farms supply 420,000 litres (92,000 gallons) of milk a week to the creamery, with the two tankers covering 200 miles a day between them.

The drivers, who are employed by SJ Bargh, are Jim Metcalfe, Robert Shuttleworth, Anthony Heseltine and Carl Roberts.

Farmer Richard Middleton, of Skelgill Farm, praised them for doing so well. He said: “It is important for the cash flow to keep the business going and to keep the local dairy economy going.”

Tanker driver Jim Metcalfe said: “It has been 15 years since I started doing this job and they are the worst conditions I have ever encountered.”

The tankers always carry a shovel and grit and the drivers contact the farmers on the pick-up route to see what the roads are like.

In County Durham, Rock Farm Dairy, near Wheatley Hill, also managed to make all collections and deliveries – and even picked up extra work from customers whose usual suppliers failed to get through.

The new customers included Costa Coffee and an order for three articulated lorry loads of milk to Sheffield.

At times the dairy used a tractor to tow tankers up to their bays in the yard.

Lanchester Dairies also coped well, clearing the yard each day with its own snow plough and collecting worker’s in the company’s fourwheel drive vehicles.

It processes more than 20 million litres a year, collecting milk from more than 12 farms and making 500 deliveries a day.