With not a flake of snow or patch of ice in sight, people may be a little surprised to see gritters out on East Sussex roads next week.

On Monday, 21 gritters will be travelling along the most heavily used roads as part of the annual Operation Snowdrop, where East Sussex Highways fine-tunes its response to wintry weather.

From 7pm gritter drivers will be checking the vehicles, re-familiarising themselves with all A roads across the county, and ensuring overgrown vegetation isn’t causing obstruction for the three-metre-wide gritters.

An East Sussex Highways spokesperson said: “This dry-run is important as it gives us the chance ensure everything is working as it should and everyone knows their role so that when extreme weather arrives, we are ready to go.

“This winter we have purchased 21 new gritters, having previously hired the vehicles, so the two drivers assigned to each need time to re-familiarise themselves with the gritters and the routes.

“Ahead of Operation Snowdrop, we would ask members of the public to ensure that any hedges or trees on their property that overhang the road are cut back to allow ample room for a gritter to pass.”

Around 10,000 tonnes of dry rock salt is stored at the county’s five highway depots – Ringmer, Heathfield, Polegate, Cripps Corner and Maresfield, ready for use when the road surface falls close to or below freezing or when snow is forecast.

More information about East Sussex Highways’ winter service, details of gritting routes and advice on how to stay safe on the roads during wintry weather can be found at https://live.eastsussexhighways.com/services/services-winter-service