A GRITTING lorry crashed this morning (Friday, March 2) while operating near Tegryn.

Fortunately the crew was unhurt but shaken.

After skidding on a patch of black ice, the vehicle had to be returned to its depot at Llanfyrnach and has been taken off the road.

Pemrokeshire County Council’s head of environment and civil contingencies, Richard Brown, said the incident demonstrated how dangerous the roads could be.

“If this can happen to one of our gritters and its experienced crew, it shows how careful we have to be when driving in this extreme weather,” he said.

Thea fleet of gritting lorries and snow blowers - and the highway teams which operate them - have been working round the clock since yesterday evening to keep open the main roads before moving onto the secondary routes.

In Ceredigion, while snowfall has not been as heavy as expected in some parts of the county, the wind has caused problems, both in relation to drifting snow and fallen trees and the area is also now experiencing freezing rain, which may cause roads to become treacherous.

A council spokesman said: “We strongly advise against all but absolutely essential travel, and that extreme caution should be exercised if journeys are deemed necessary.

Ceredigion highways crews have been utilising a fleet of 12 gritting vehicles (fitted with snow ploughs) to keep the county moving as much as possible, in addition to three snow blowers, and supported by external contractors.

Six roads were closed at 5.30 this morning, with crews working to ensure the roads are passable before reopening. At first light on Friday, contractors with snow blowers were brought in to tackle routes affected by snow, and also separately to deal with fallen trees.

As of 1pm, the A44; A4120 Pisgah to Ponterwyd and B4343 Tregaron to Pontrhydfendigaid were still closed. All other primary gritting routes were passable with extreme care.

Household waste sites in Ceredigion will be closed on Saturday March 3 and Sunday March 4. There is a likelihood that waste collections will also be affected into next week.

Pembrokeshire County Wedding Fair scheduled for Sunday March 4 at Brithdir Hall, County Show Ground, Haverfordwerst, has been cancelled due to the weather. New date of March 25.