Snow way Openreach will be beat

Openreach has moved to assure the people of Airdrie and Coatbridge it is ready for the worst of the winter weather after stocking up on thousands of snow shoes, snow socks for vehicle tyres, bags of salt and litres of screenwash.

Lessons learned from dealing with extreme conditions during recent years has seen the UK’s largest telephone and broadband network invest in huge amounts of winter weather equipment so its engineers can remain on the road.

So far the seasonal shopping list includes: 62,000 kilos of rock salt; 1700 snow shovels; 3400 ice and snow grips for footwear; 3500 sets of snow socks for van tyres; 20,000 litres of screenwash; and 20,000 de-icer sprays.

Fraser Rowberry, Openreach’s service delivery director in Scotland, said:“It’s impossible to predict what kind of winter we’re going to have, but we’re doing everything we can to prepare for the worst.

“Our engineers are out and about in all conditions.

“Making sure they have access to the latest winter weather kit is not only important to help them do their job, but also essential to make sure they can stay safe.

“Our network covers some of the most remote places in North Lanarkshire, so this is really important to us.

“We would also urge anyone to alert us if they spot any damage to our network, like dangling cables or broken poles, so we can crack on with repairs.

“When Mother Nature does come calling, we’ll be as ready and prepared as we can be to fight back.”

As well as stocking up on supplies, Openreach also has a fleet of 4x4 vehicles strategically placed around the UK to reach isolated and extremely rural communities quickly.

Anyone spotting any damage to the Openreach network can report it on the Openreach website or by calling 0800 023 2023.

Well prepared The Openreach team are ready for winter