Bradford’s highways chiefs are confident they can keep traffic flowing this winter as they prepare for a dry run this weekend using the district’s fleet of 30 gritters.

The annual exercise, scheduled for Saturday’s predicted mild and damp weather, will help workers get ready to tackle the worst the winter can throw at the district’s roads.

It will allow drivers to familiarise themselves with the routes and also ensure the equipment, including GPS, is ready for action by gritting a short section of road each.

Staff will be using a number of new vehicles, including large gritters and smaller trailer gritters which have been bought in the past two years, an investment of nearly £550,000 by the authority.

The move is part of a rolling programme to replace the old fleet which was bought about six years ago and reconditioned.

The state-of-the-art gritting trucks have the latest technology such as GPS and better gritting speeds and spread which will help keep routes clear in winter.