COUNCIL bosses say they are prepared whatever weather conditions hit Essex during winter.

Essex County Council launched their winter services programme for the 2012/13 season with 14,000 tons of salt available for the fleet of 60 gritting vehicles to spread across the roads.

A new section on their website has also been launched allowing residents to track gritting lorries, which have GPS devices onboard, and also see where salt has been scattered.

Derrick Louis, county councillor responsible for highways and transportation, said the council want as much information available for the public.

Mr Louis added over 40,000 potholes have been repaired since the beginning of June, saying this is still being constantly monitored as well.

He said: “The most unpredictable thing is the British weather.

“The rise in the number of potholes on the roads last year was because of the unprecedented weather extremes we experienced.

“We have listened to residents’ concerns by putting in significant additional resources, including extra funding of £11million, to fix the roads, which we will continue to do.”

The gritting maps can be viewed at www.essexhighways.org/Winter-Maintenance.