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Ford and Etal villages are now able to deal with wintry weather more effectively than in the past thanks to a group of volunteer snow wardens and some very effective grit spreaders.

Ford Parish Council successfully applied to the Barmoor Wind Farm Community Fund for a grant of more than £2,000 that enabled them to buy two large and one small hand-pushed gritters.

They were put to use for the first time during the cold snap before Christmas.

The gritters enabled grit from the Northumberland County Council grit bins to be spread more quickly and more effectively than throwing it by hand, so the problems of icy surfaces on the key roads and footpaths in Ford and Etal were reduced.

Eric Musgrave collecting the kit from Peacocks of Ayr.

Anyone who wishes to join the group of snow wardens, who at present are almost all Ford parish councillors, should contact Eric Musgrave on 07702 628848 and / or [email protected] for further details.

Grant funding helps tackle icy surfaces in Ford and Etal