Gritter lorry saves the day and helps widow get to her husband's funeral

A gritter lorry was called into action in Witney, Oxfordshire yesterday, rescuing a woman in desperate need of a clear road. The woman, who was left stranded in her street by heavy snow, needed to get to her husband's funeral by 11am.

Liam Walker, local county councillor, put out a tweet pleading for help to clear the road. A group of residents turned out, armed with shovels, but were then heartened by the arrival of one of Oxfordshire council's gritter lorries.

See also: Snow causes chaos for commuters on 'Black Monday'

See also: Top five winter driving tips

https://twitter.com/_Liam_Walker_/status/940156356442673152

The snowplough-equipped truck, affectionately named 'Frosty', made short work of the snowy road, and allowed the widow to make the funeral on time.

Councillor Walker said: "I put out an appeal on Facebook and a few residents came out to help and then the gritter joined us.

"What was a very small thing for the council to do was a really big thing for the lady and her family. It's a great example of the community coming together to help someone out."

https://twitter.com/_Liam_Walker_/status/940164387893141505

Oxfordshire council responded on Twitter, saying "Really glad we could help."

The gritter is one of 25 that Oxfordshire council keeps by, to prevent treacherous ice and snow from causing too much havoc on the roads. In the last 24 hours alone they have covered more than 6,000 miles of tarmac.

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