ESSEX County Council says it did “all that it could” to keep the county’s roads clear after the recent heavy snowfalls.

Norman Hume, councillor responsible for transport, said: “It was a difficult beginning on Tuesday morning but I believe we certainly have done all that we can.

“We went out and gritted all strategic routes three times a day during this period of bad weather, but we had been gritting before that too as temperatures have been unseasonably low.

“The snow did cause some disruption, however things have now settled down and the main network has run quite well.

“As far as the high streets and areas of high footfall are concerned, the borough and district councils have responded really well.

“I don’t pretend there have not been issues in some spots, but overall I am really pleased with the performance and thank those who have driven the snowploughs and gritters.”

Mr Hume added that the council was well-prepared to deal with potholes which are emerging as the snow melts away.

“Potholes will follow periods of cold weather,” he said.

“We try to keep the condition of our roads as good as possible going into winter, though as we are talking of a network of 5,000 miles of road, there will be some defects.

“We ensure we have the funding available at this time of year to fix defects that arise. I would ask the public to let us know as soon as possible so we can go out there and fix any problems.

“Last year we had thousands of responses, which is very helpful, and people can report a pothole on our website.”

A spokesman for the county council said all existing salt bins had been filled for the start of winter and would not be refilled as resources were being focused on treating the precautionary network, consisting of major roads in the county.

The council added it would not know exactly how much salt had been used until today when gritting teams made a full report, but stocks were still at a healthy level.