YEP Says: Leeds whiteout was a perfect storm

Frustrated parents and commuters were among those who expressed their anger as they once more faced a day of disruption because of some predicted wintry weather. Businesses will have lost trade and there is always a knock-on effect to the local economy.

According to Leeds City Council the sheer volume of snow falling in such a short space of time meant keeping on top of it was impossible.

Gritters are like goalkeepers and can go from heroes to villains in the blink of an eye

When the roads are cleared they are our saviours - but on a morning like yesterday, all fingers point their way.

They’d been out on the roads from 10pm on Wednesday night, gritting at 4am and gritting continually at 6am. But with snow covering the grit before cars could work it into the roads it was doing nothing.

Some were saying grit bins hadn’t been filled since last week - and that’s something Leeds City Council should look at.

Such days in Leeds are infrequent, thankfully, but that very infrequency does make it tougher to plan for and we couldn’t advocate sitting on excesses of grit, gritters and drivers “just in case”.