‘Moaners’ told to lay off council staff in gritting row

Council trucks and gritters were seen everywhere over the ice and snowy weather last week that caused major disruptions across the region.

However some residents were unhappy, and took to social media to make complaints about Powys County Council staff not getting to the most remote areas of Mid Wales.

County councillor for Welshpool Graham Breeze has defended the council and the job they did in the recent snow.

He said: "I’ve been more than a little hacked off in the past week by people moaning and groaning about the council not clearing the snow from roads leading to houses in the most obscure locations of Powys. People really do expect too much.

"Welshpool and the borders areas were hit by the worst snow in over a decade and like many others I found myself cut off by road for three days – even with a 4x4 parked on the drive.

"That’s because I choose to live on the top of a hill and accept that from time to time extreme weather might cause me a problem.

"But it seems not all feel the same way and welcomed the opportunity to sound-off on social media that gritters were not reaching their homes. I wonder sometimes which world some of these people really live in.

"Staff in the Powys County Council highways department worked around the clock for days, struggling to keep the main routes open through the massive county and sometimes putting their own safety at risk to keep us on the move.

"And thanks to modern communication methods the council kept us all up to date on road conditions and with weather warnings."

Last week, fellow county councillor for Newtown, Joy Jones, heaped praise on council workers for keeping roads safe, and also hospital workers and emergency services for keeping the Powys population safe.

Councillor Breeze was of the same view, and told constituents to lay off the council workers.

He also praised two people from the younger generation for their kindness in the wintery conditions last week.

He added: "Some of the moaners would do well to hear two heart-warming stories which emerged in Welshpool to help restore faith in the younger generation.

"The first involved a young lady knocking on the doors of residents in sheltered housing accommodation and offering to go out for essentials for those trapped inside, and the second saw a young man offering people lifts on his quad bike to get them to and from their “cut-off” properties. It’s not all bad news."