26,000 tonnes of salt arrives in Capital as city freezes

The Scottish Government is ready for the cold weather ahead, transport minister Stewart Stevenson said today, as he watched thousands of tonnes of salt arrive in the Capital.

The minister was speaking from Leith docks in Edinburgh as he witnessed the delivery of almost 26,000 tonnes of treatment salt arriving in Scotland.

Mr Stevenson said: "The Scottish Government, councils and other key services across Scotland pulled together last year to deal successfully with the coldest winter since 1914.

"We are confident that we have planned well ahead with our operating companies and local councils to keep Scotland moving during this brace of cold weather.

"While there is no suggestion yet that we will face similar conditions to last winter, we have ensured lessons learned are already being put into practice as can be seen here at Leith today.

"With the arrival of this extra salt to supplement our existing stocks, over two months' supply at heavy use, we are well placed to tackle winter head-on."

The Government's Resilience Committee will be kept up to date with weather developments over the coming days, and will convene again if necessary.

Road authorities are on target to meet their increased salt stock targets for this winter according to recent monitoring.