East Surrey MP Peter Ainsworth resorted to direct action to tackle the icy state of local pavements last weekend. Having nearly slipped over several times as he went about his shopping in Lingfield on Saturday, and having witnessed other people complaining about the treacherous condition of the roads across East Surrey, Mr Ainsworth took a load of his own grit and spread it around.

Mr Ainsworth comments:

"Having heard reports that elderly people were falling over on icy pavements, and having narrowly escaped hitting the deck myself, I decided to use some grit I had at home and help the County Council out. Why they couldn't do it themselves I am not sure, especially as the was plenty of warning from the Met Office that snow was on the way.

"I know that it has become a national pastime for all of us to whinge about the failure of public services every time there's a bit of snow; on the other hand, winter does happen every year, and it's not unreasonable to expect the County Council to plan for it."