REGARDING the regrettable accident to Mr Tom Ashton, who fell during the icy conditions which prevailed in Blackburn over the holiday period (LET, January 4), may I first, on behalf of the council, wish him a speedy recovery?

I felt that it was important to provide your readers with the position of the council regarding town centre winter maintenance.

During the winter, precautionary gritting is carried out on all principal roads within the borough.

Unusually, in relation to most local authorities, we also provide additional grit bins (over 300) at many of the strategic points where there is perceived risk.

It is also assumed that many footways adjacent to gritted routes which cover the majority of the town centre, receive some degree of grit from the spread of the gritting wagon. Further, we would also normally grit the main pedestrianised areas of the town centre.

The response to the council has, over several years, been of a high standard, especially compared to other local authorities.

Indeed, this year we received many compliments from the public in relation to the response of the council and its staff in very difficult conditions.

Dealing with large falls of snow followed by lengthy periods of freezing conditions, such as these which occurred recently, is not an instantaneous process and additional gritting takes some time to implement and be effective.

We are continuously reviewing our services to ensure that lessons learned from previous events can be implemented to the benefit of the public.

Blackburn with Darwen Council is committed to continuously improving its services which are already at a very high level compared to many other local authorities and we will take steps to improve the service in relation to winter maintenance in the borough's two town centres over winter holiday periods.

GRAHAM BURGESS, Executive Director (Regeneration and Technical), Blackburn with Darwen Council.