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Labour blast authorities over gritting policy
Former highways chief Coun Matthew Tomlinson has joined infuriated motorists in claiming the authority is failing to grit Lancashire roads properly.
Coun Tomlinson, who was in charge of gritting last winter before his Labour group lost power, said: "The new Conservative administration has been badly caught out by their lack of planning for the recent cold snap.
"Only last week the cabinet member for highways, Coun Keith Young, stated how well prepared they were for the coming winter – and yet within days we have been reduced to traffic chaos and roads have been left untreated and ungritted."
He accused the Tories of making cuts and leaving the highways department "short staffed".
He said: "This is very serious because they are playing politics with people's lives."
But Lancashire County Council leader Coun Geoff Driver said: "I didn't think Matthew would stoop so low. Not only have we not changed his previous policy of how we go about gritting the roads in Lancashire, but we have put money back into highways which he took out – 40,000 in the highways maintenance budget.
"It's abnormal weather conditions which led to the closure of the A59, but we have managed to keep the major routes open and that can't be said for other highway authorities in the country."
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Weather for Preston
Tuesday 07 February 2012
Today
Cloudy
Temperature: -6 C to 4 C
Wind Speed: 10 mph
Wind direction: South east
Tomorrow
Sunny
Temperature: -2 C to 2 C
Wind Speed: 13 mph
Wind direction: South east
