DRIVERS are warned to expect slight delays when Hampshire County Council test their salt lorries on Saturday.

The vehicles will be out on the county's carriageways between 7am and 1pm to ensure that there are no unexpected obstructions on route.

This will include spreading a very small amount of salt. Roads within Southampton City Council boundaries will not be affected.

The council’s annual winter maintenance programme begins on October 1 ready for the first frosts and snow of the season.

Teams will be monitoring forecast and sensors daily right through to April to assess when salting is needed.

A number of factors are considered when deciding when to salt the roads, including a specially provided local weather forecast, and the Icelert system.

This system consists of a number of roadside sensors which detect road and air temperatures, wind speed and direction, rainfall, and ice formation.

Hampshire’s winter maintenance teams treat roads on a priority basis. priority one routes carry the majority of the total traffic in Hampshire and include A roads, major bus routes, and roads to major emergency services.

During periods of prolonged severe weather, priority two and community routes are treated. Priority two routes include B roads and single accesses to villages, and community routes ensure roads to smaller schools, GPs surgeries and areas of community activity are covered.

If you would like to check which roads are on which priority routes, visit the website at: hants.gov.uk/roads/winter-maintenance.