Snow watch

With just seven shopping days left before Christmas, Harrow Council has drafted in extra staff to help clear the snow forecast to fall over the weekend.

Heavy snowfall is predicted for North West London so residents are being encouraged to shop locally or in the town centre.

A team of 20 will be on hand to clear the way to help shops stay open and allow shoppers to reach the town centre on one of the busiest weekends of the year.

The town centre usually has a team of 10 staff from the council's public realm department on hand to clear snow and keep the area clean and tidy. If the snow does not arrive the extra staff will keep busy by cleaning the streets or move on to any other affected areas.

Portfolio holder for environment and community safety at Harrow Council, Cllr Phillip O'Dell, said: "This is a crucial weekend for retailers as shoppers rush to buy their last minute presents, so we're doing all we can to make sure the town centre is accessible and that businesses do not suffer because of the bad weather.

"We're bringing in extra staff to make sure there are plenty of people gritting and clearing snow, if necessary, so residents can shop locally and safely.

"Our gritting team remains on 24 hour standby, ready to clear our busiest roads to keep Harrow moving."

The Met Office has issued a severe weather warning for London. Gritting teams worked over night to grit main routes and on Friday afternoon they turned their attention to the borough's secondary roads. Almost 200 tonnes of salt has been spread so far this week.

The council receives weather forecasts four times a day and these are used to help assess the correct time to grit. This generally takes place at about 8pm and 5am but gritters are on standby 24 hours a day.

When main routes are treated other roads are treated on a priority basis.