Somerset County Council has performed a partial U-turn, reinstating and updating the roads to be gritted this winter.

Somerset County Council has published a map showing all the roads across the county which will be gritted this winter.

Around 900 miles – or just over one-fifth of Somerset's road network – has been included in the "precautionary gritting network".

The length of roads being gritted in Somerset fell from 900 miles in the winter of 2017/18 to 720 miles in 2018/19 as a result of drastic cuts made in the council's emergency budget in September 2018.

The new network has restored the distance to 2017/18 levels, but the whole network has been reviewed – meaning not all the same roads as before will be treated.

The M5 and A303 will be gritted by Highways England independently of the council's efforts, since they form part of the major strategic road network for the whole country.

In Glastonbury and Street there have been a couple of small additions or reinstatements to these two settlements, but the main routes (including the A39 and A361) are still covered.

Here's the roads which will be gritted here:

A361 Bere Lane/ Chilkwell Street/ Street Road

A39 Quarry Batch/ Street Road/ The Causeway/ Westway

B3151 Somerton Road

Beckery New Road

Chilkwell Street

Cockrod

Dyehouse Lane

High Street (Glastonbury)

Magdalene Street

Meare Road

Northload Bridge

Wells Road

The council has stockpiled 7,000 tonnes of salt and has 23 gritters on standby ready to be deployed if frost or ice is forecast, or if the road surface temperature is predicted to drop below 1C.

In the event of snow, the council can also call on the service of farmers and snowplough contractors to ensure crucial routes are cleared quickly.

Roadside grit bins will continue to be filled when requested by parish councils, and a new snow warden scheme has been introduced to enable parish council volunteers to assist with localised snow clearance in their communities.

Councillor John Woodman, cabinet member for highways and transport, said: "Our highways teams do a fantastic job keeping our roads clear of snow and ice throughout the winter, working hard when conditions are at their worst.

"This year we're pleased to be investing more money and gritting more roads than before, but our advice to drivers is unchanged.

"The vast majority of roads are not gritted and ice can still form on gritted roads, so always drive to the conditions and take extra care in winter.

"I'd also encourage drivers to check our map to see the additional roads which will now be gritted and follow @TravelSomerset on Twitter for daily updates direct from our gritting teams."

For more information on gritting in your area, visit www.travelsomerset.co.uk/gritting.