Gritter deployed to 'aid' stranded school bus topples over in treacherous icy conditions near Wickham

Hampshire County Council sent the vehicle out on Tuesday to clear a path for the stricken bus. The crew were ‘shaken up’ by the incident in Trampers Lane, North Boarhunt, but were ‘relatively’ unhurt.

A council spokesperson said: ‘We can confirm that a gritter, sent out to aid a stranded school bus that was not on one of our primary salting routes, overturned near Boarhunt.

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‘Thankfully, the crew were relatively unharmed, sustaining only minor injuries, but they were understandably shaken up. The damaged vehicle was recovered on the same day for inspection.’

Motorists have been dealing with treacherous driving conditions across the county this week. The Met Office issued a yellow weather warning for ice across Tuesday evening and Wednesday morning.

The council spokesperson said it is a priority for major routes to be gritted and safe. ‘Hampshire Highways is working round the clock to treat main routes across Hampshire but incidents like this demonstrate how everyone travelling on the network must take extra care when we have adverse weather such as the freezing temperatures we’re experiencing currently,’ they added.

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‘We can assure residents and road users that we have sufficient salt stocks, vehicles and staff to continue treating the main routes as often as needed throughout the winter.’

Friday is set to be cold across the Portsmouth area. The Met Office forecasts 1C at 9am, which will feel like -2C, with highs of 6C throughout the day. Temperatures are expected to hover between 2C and 6C on Saturday.