WINTER maintenance crews in east Cleveland went into action this week to keep the district moving during the heavy snowfalls.

Staff from Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council's technical services department have been on stand-by for action since October and will continue to cover for winter weather conditions until April.

The council has 700 kilometres of roads in both urban and rural districts and says it divides the roads into three priority areas.

Its first priority is the borough's main roads and bus routes, which make up 40 per cent of the roads.

These will be salted at any time in response to the weather forecasts and the council says it takes four gritters four hours to complete these routes.

Priority two roads are other commuter and feeder roads and these will be salted during normal working hours only while priority one routes are kept clear.

The council's lowest priority roads are estate roads and access to villages, hamlets and farms. These are usually only treated in prolonged extreme conditions. However, the council says that more than half of its roads are not routinely treated and says drivers should take extreme caution.

To supplement the gritting routes, the council has provided 102 salt bins at known trouble spots such as roads with steep gradients or severe bends. Town and parish councils have also provided salt bins, with the borough council replenishing the salt.

A spokesman for Redcar and Cleveland said: "Despite all these sophisticated systems, we all know weather can be unpredictable and can change so quickly, so it is not possible to guarantee that all priority one roads will be treated before icy conditions occur."