Clearing Snow

Government Advice

• How to clear snow and ice When you clear snow and ice:• do it early in the day - it’s easier to move fresh, loose snow• don’t use water - it might refreeze and turn to black ice• use salt if possible - it will melt the ice or snow and stop it

from refreezing overnight (but don’t use the salt from salting bins as this is used to keep roads clear)

• you can use ash and sand if you don’t have enough salt - it will provide grip underfoot

• pay extra attention when clearing steps and steep pathways - using more salt may help

Personal Safety

• Remember to bend your knees not your back whenever possible

• Make sure you that you grit the areas that you have cleared as you go along and walk on these

• Make sure you wear gloves and footwear with a good grips

• Clear a central line on pathways – it will provide a safer surface for you and allow you to pile the snow at the edges

Urban Myths!Dear Editor,

I would like to make it clear that under health and safety legislation nobody who volunteers to support their community by clearing pavements during icy conditions should feel they are in danger of being sued.The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) encourages a common sense approach to health and safety, and agrees with your reader that "clearing the snow and ice...makes it easier for people to get about."HSE is focused on the real safety risks at work, and we think it is ridiculous that people should feel prevented from helping others, through a fear of being held responsible for an accident.

Yours sincerely,Terry RoseRegional Director, South WestHealth and Safety Executive

Gritting Paths

• How do you spread the salt? . • A garden spade or shovel and a small stick would be adequate for

spreading the salt. • Try not to over load the spade. Hold the spade in one hand and the

small stick in the other and use the stick to flick the salt onto the surface moving left and right to cover the area in an even layer. Do not over salt the surface – the salt does not need to be spread like sand. A volume the size of a bag of sugar is more than sufficient to treat ten paces of footway length. Be careful not to spread over the grass verges.