Sir, I was disappointed to read the comments of Mr F. K.Goulding ('All so feeble', Letters to the Editor, December 2 issue) regarding his perception of the 'failure' of Pembrokeshire County Council to respond to last month's snowfall. Obviously Canada experiences far more severe winter conditions than Pembrokeshire, and as a consequence Canadian highway authorities, by necessity, expend significantly more time and resource in dealing with snowfall. Similarly, it is normal practice in such countries for vehicles to be equipped with winter tyres or chains. Mr. Goulding also seems somewhat misinformed in his assumptions on how we deal with winter conditions in Pembrokeshire, and I feel that I must set the matter straight. On the evening prior to the snowfall, all priority winter maintenance routes were pre-salted, these being the roads carrying the majority of vehicles. Pre-salting alone is not sufficient to prevent snow accumulating on the road surfaces, and where snow has fallen, it must be removed by a combination of ploughing and post-treatment with salt. Therefore, throughout the previous night, the priority routes were patrolled continuously by gritting lorries with snowploughs fitted. However, the combination of abandoned vehicles and the volume of rush-hour traffic led to traffic- jams which prevented our gritting lorries from reaching certain sections of road to carry out post- treatment. It is precisely for this reason that the police, highway authorities and motoring organisations all recommend during times of snowfall that drivers only make essential journeys. Throughout the period of cold weather from November 24-29, our winter maintenance fleet was employed continuously, and over these five days approximately half of our total salt stock was spread on the county's highways. The endeavours and hard work of our area maintenance staff kept the main routes open, and where snowfall occurred or ice formed, the roads were re-opened as quickly as possible. I am therefore at a loss to see how we may have failed in any obligation or statutory duty.

County Councillor Brian Hall, Cabinet Member for Environment and Transportation.