They brave the freezing cold to make the streets safe for us. So as the temperature plunges spare a thought for the gritters, says Chris Wickham, as he heads out with the workers who keep London moving

There is no escaping the fact it has been cold over the past few weeks.

Not Arctic cold, but certainly cold by London standards.

And on the roads and pavements, the evidence of that cold – snow, ice and, often, grit – have been clear to see.

Gritting lorries are part of the fabric at this time of year. Some residents may never see them but for early risers, or those who are out late at night, when the temperature drops the gritters are out.

So who are the people who brave the freezing conditions to make sure we are safe on the roads?

Meet Colin Magellan, a gritting lorry driver, who is among those hardy souls – and says they really are on the frontline.

“It’s rewarding,” he says. “Now and then we get complaints but overall they are pleased to see we are out there. And we always manage to get into work, even when others can’t. There is a great camaraderie, we are all friendly, we all get on.

“It does hurt a little bit when you have people complaining that something hasn’t been done but we know we can’t do any more.”

I spent time on the road with Colin, 48, last Wednesday, following the sub-zero temperatures the night before. He tells me he drives a route through Whitton and Hampton. Each driver spends one week out of three on call, which involves being available overnight, from late afternoon to early morning, starting on Monday afternoon and finishing the following Monday morning.

They generally don’t hit the roads until they are quieter. Colin explains the trucks spread grit best when they are moving at a decent speed, unless it is snowing when they just grit wherever they can as often as they can.

Colin had spent the previous week on call and was back at his day job, a signmaker in the council’s highways department, although temperatures meant he was required to be out gritting during daylight hours – not that he minds.

“It’s a good thing,” he says. “I really enjoy it. It makes a change from the normal job.”

And Colin doesn’t mind working at night either, although he admitted it might be harder for those with families.

“It’s beautiful in the borough at night,” he tells me. “It’s so peaceful and there is wildlife out there.When you see it at night, you see more of a place, it’s more at peace. One of the best times is when it is already snowing, it’s so beautiful.”

Colin is just one of the dozens of highways department workers contracted to grit during the winter. The workers who normally tarmac roads, repair pavements and make signs are sent out to make sure the roads are passable.

He lives in Ham and has worked for the authority for 32 years, the last three of which have been spent in the highways department.

“I was drafted in from building maintenance to do gritting years ago,” he says. We start from October and finish in the first week in April or the end of March. Over the years, the winters are getting later. They are lasting longer after Christmas too. A few years ago the chances are you would go out in October.”

While on the road with Colin a few things hit me: the complex-looking control box that he has to use, how noisy the truck is when it is spreading and how well it handles considering how big it is. But none of that seems to affect Colin. He says the hardest thing to learn is the route, but the control box, which looks like something designed by Nasa, is fairly simple once you know how to use it.

He seems genuinely pleased to have a change from making signs, whether they’re speed limit signs, school signs or road names, even if it occasionally makes his days longer.

He says: “We generally get a warning in the afternoon of what temperatures they are expecting for that night and the following morning. If it is snowing you just keep going all night.”

Councillor David Trigg, Richmond Council cabinet member for traffic, transport and parking, is full of praise for the team in his department, those out spreading 2,500 tonnes of grit onto borough streets.

He says: “Our teams have been working extremely hard to ensure that roads and footpaths are safe to use, and that as the weather gets colder, everyone can still get to work and visit friends and family. We pride ourselves on being well prepared for the worst conditions, so our residents can still get around, at what is one of the busiest times of the year.”

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