ALL three of Dorset’s highway authorities are confident they are ready for a harsh winter.

A survey has shown councils across the country have stockpiled more salt for this winter than last.

Dorset County Council says it has 12,000 tonnes of salt – enough to cover two average winters.

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It has 2,500 miles of roads to look after, including a core route of around 650 miles, and is receiving daily weather forecasts.

The county has 26 gritters in six depots, each of which can be fitted with snow ploughs.

One run by the gritters, spreading 6mm of salt on to roads, costs £6,000.

Bournemouth council has five gritters and 1,800 of road salt – the same amount as last year.

Stuart Best, street services manager, said: “The fleet has been fully serviced and maintained and is ready to be called upon as soon as the temperatures drop.

“Our staff will be on 24 hour standby, seven days a week throughout the whole of the winter to ensure Bournemouth’s primary routes are safe for our residents.”

The Borough of Poole has 1,000 tonnes of salt – a similar amount to 2012.

Street scene operations manager Simon Legg said the council had carried out a “severe weather resilience exercise” in September.

He added: “A further eight members of staff will complete training in early December to operate the gritters.

“This will complement our existing 16 drivers, who work on a rota basis to cover our winter services.

“We also have 24/7 access to a Met Office weather forecaster to ensure we can plan our services accordingly.

“While we are still undertaking some final preparations, we are confident that we be able to meet the challenge that this winter brings.”

A national survey by the Local Government Association showed that 95 per cent of councils were maintaining or increasing their stocks of salt this winter.