WORCESTERSHIRE County Council is warning road users to be extra vigilant for the next 24 hours with temperatures potentially dropping as low as eight-to-nine degrees below freezing.

Worcestershire County Council will be gritting roads along pre-approved routes, which are available on the internet or in the Winter Maintenance Leaflet.

Council Officers inspect the highways every night from October through to April, look at information from the Met Office and receive information from ground thermometers.

Gritting can take place two or three times a night, which involves 10,000 tonnes of rocksalt in a single covering. The Winter Maintenance Service costs around £750,000 a year.

A covering of grit on a road does not make it safe and motorists should temper their driving and adjust to the conditions. In certain weather, roads can re-freeze once they have been treated.

For further information on gritting in Worcestershire and to view the county gritting map click here.