Dozens of gritting wagons were ready to take to Bradford’s roads tonight as the first significant snowfalls of the year were forecast to hit the district.

The Council has 27 gritting lorries ready to respond to sub-zero temperatures and potentially heavy showers that could leave snow and ice on roads.

Councillor Ghazanfer Khaliq, executive member with responsibility for gritting, said the Council had bought 7,000 more tonnes of grit than last year for use on the district’s roads.

He said: “We are well prepared and I hope it is not as bad a winter as last year.

“We’ve taken every possible step.”

John Blackburn, the Council’s assistant director for transportation and highways, said: “We have 27 gritting wagons on standby and we will be monitoring the weather throughout the night to ensure that we will be able to respond appropriately and keep the district’s highways safe to use.”

Last winter, the local authority had to contend with the harshest conditions for 30 years. Forecasters say it is too early to tell whether that will be repeated this winter.

According to the Met Office, Bradford is facing a prolonged cold snap, with temperatures expected to fall to minus five next week.

Forecaster Helen Chivers said: “Snow showers in the early hours of the morning and overnight could leave a couple of centimetres lying on the ground by the morning. That will bring icy roads too. It may not only be snow that makes for interesting travelling conditions.

“We’ll continue to see snow showers on and off throughout the day with a bit of sunshine in between.

“I would think ice would be a problem on Thursday night as well.

“Into Friday and the weekend there is a fairly high chance of snow on and off with the greatest cover over the moors and the peaks.

“Even the level in Bradford could mean continued lying snow over the next few days.

“The showers have the potential to be very heavy at times but it depends how the wind sets up.”