CAERPHILLY council’s gritting vehicles have covered a distance in excess of 5,000 miles since Friday morning - the equivalent of travelling from Caerphilly to China.

The team have spread around 1,400 tonnes of salt worth £90,000 and the council says they are well placed to tackle any further spells of cold weather with over 5,500 tonnes still in storage.

Leader of council, Cllr Harry Andrews said, “We were well prepared to respond to the difficult weather conditions over the last few days and it is clear that our investment in equipment and grit supplies has made a significant impact. I would like to thank staff for their efforts and I would also like to thank residents for their patience and understanding. Our priority now is to get back to business and catch up on missed refuse/recycling collections etc.”

There have been a number of instances where staff have ‘gone the extra mile’ to help out.

Council staff have helped residents in difficult circumstances, including a number of dialysis patients were helped to ensure they had access to their treatment and  a heavily pregnant woman in Abertysswg on Sunday evening who was unable to get her car off the property.

Refuse and Recycling vehicles have been deployed today and will collect as normal where it is safe to do so. The severe conditions on Friday meant that all collections were cancelled. Residents are asked to leave bins at their normal collection point.

What do you think about Caerphilly's response to the snow? Leave a comment or e-mail newsdesk@gwent-wales.co.uk