Salt rationing 'necessary'

Date: 11/1/2010

It will be necessary to ration what salt and grit supplies remain in order to cope with the ongoing spell of colder weather, transport secretary Lord Adonis has warned.

Supplies are running low in various parts of the country, and therefore steps to ensure some grit is available need to be introduced, Lord Adonis suggested.

"Given the prolongation of the very cold weather, further measures are likely to be required to keep networks open. These are likely to include further steps to conserve salt to ensure the Highways Agency and local authorities can manage during the severe weather."

Further supplies of salt have been ordered, but delivery from overseas could take some time.

Shadow transport secretary Theresa Villiers argued that the government had not made enough preparations for the cold spell, arguing that it should have learned more from a cold snap a year ago, the Press Association reported.