IN the event of an icy winter, the council is already prepared to make sure the town’s roads are safe.

Stocks of salt are piled high to ensure gritters will be able to keep the roads clear in the coming months should there be any heavy snowfall.

More than 4,500 tonnes has been bought over the summer meaning Swindon is ready for the worst.

While last year was quite mild, 2012 saw heavy snowfall which brought much of the town to a standstill.

Council chiefs are keen to prevent that from happening again.

A council spokesman said: “We have enough salt to treat our priority routes more than 100 times.

“Last season being a very mild winter we treated the main routes only 27 times, but although we have never run out of salt, we are at the mercy of the weather so have to plan accordingly.

“If Swindon is subjected to a harsh winter we will have drivers on 24-hour standby to treat the routes which cover 280 miles of the borough’s 520-mile road network.”

As well as making sure the main routes are clear, plans have been put in place to ensure side roads and streets will be kept clear.

There are also other contingency plans in place to make sure the most vulnerable residents will be able to get assistance in severe weather.

“We have also topped up our grit bins across the borough but we would remind residents that this grit is only to be used for roads and public footpaths, not for private driveways,” said the spokesman.

“We have emergency planning procedures in place to protect vulnerable residents and staff in many service areas will also be placed on standby in the event of severe weather.”

The Met Office has said it is not possible to accurately predict the long term weather for the town but it is expected to stay mild for the rest of November. Rainfall and high winds are going to be the theme of the coming days.

However, in December the temperature is expected to drop and while no heavy snowfall is predicted at this stage, there could be some early morning frosts.