There is no danger of barnsley running out of grit salt - the council has thousands of tonnes left and is even selling some to neighbouring Sheffield which is running out.
More than 1,200 tonnes has been used on the roads this week - there is 3,500 tonnes left.
I went out on a gritter yesterday with Lee Robinson, 35, of Gawber. Lee's two-and-a-half hour route covers about 60 miles including the whole Dearne Valley Parkway, both directions, driving all the way round every roundabout. Kids often pelt him with snowballs. One smashed his windscreen once.
Lee gets frustrated when snow falls faster than he can grit. He said: "It's frustrating for other road users too. You get people phoning up saying 'this has not been gritted, that's not been gritted' but you know you've done it, it's just got covered again. It's not a miracle cure."
The primary routes, covering 325 miles of roads into town and the main bus routes, can be gritted in about 2 and a half hours. All 13 vehicles were in action this week, with staff working up to 12 hours - the maximum allowed.
Full story in this week's Chronicle.
