Roads sanded to save salt supply

College Ride in Camberley was gridlocked on Thursday morning

Sand is being used to treat secondary roads and pavements in Surrey to conserve supplies of salt for main roads, the county council has said.

With councils across the UK running low on gritting salt, the council said it was now using sand on key routes other than A-roads, including bus routes.

Snow and slush was still causing traffic problems on Thursday morning, four days after Monday's disruption.

Camberley resident Juliet McKee said many roads in the town were gridlocked.

She said traffic had built up in both directions because the hill to Old Dean was treacherous and impassable.

"It is the first time I have ever seen a bus do a U-turn in our road," she said.

Farnham and Frimley saw snowfalls overnight, with more snow forecast in the South East for Friday.

Highly effective

The AA said Surrey was one of the areas worst affected by low salt stocks, along with Wiltshire, Hertfordshire, Derbyshire and parts of Wales.

It said it was concerned that with weather forecasters predicting another 4 or 5 days of freezing temperatures and snow, many roads could become death traps.

The county council said it had salted all major roads and was now moving on to secondary roads.

It said sand was a highly effective way of providing traction and would be used on pavements next to main roads, in town centres and around specific secondary schools.

But it said it would not treat residential roads, alleyways, car parks, schools or private property unless they were a priority.

Salt and grit bins were being refilled with sand to allow residents to treat their own roads and pavements.

Most schools in the county were open on Thursday, but others, including Guildford County School and Portesbery School, Camberley were closed.

Others opened late and were closing early.