Winchester is preparing for the freezing temperatures set to come in the next few days.

On Thursday and Friday evening, the temperature is set to go as low as -3°.

Winchester City Council is asking people to get in touch to help rough sleepers.

In a statement on the city council website, it said: “As the temperature drops, Winchester City Council has plans in place to ensure no one needs to sleep out on the street during the cold weather.

“If you are concerned about someone who you see sleeping outside, please call 0300 500 0914, visit StreetLink so that we can take action to help by visiting https://www.streetlink.org.uk/ or email roughsleepers@winchester.gov.uk.”

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On Thursday December 8, the temperature in Winchester is forecast to be -1 at 5pm, -2 at 6pm and -3 at 9pm. On Friday December 9, it's forecast to be -1 at 5pm, -2 at 7pm and -3 at 10pm.

The county council is also preparing its gritters and salt barns for the potential of icy driving conditions.

Cllr Nick Adams-King, Hampshire County Council’s executive member for highways operations, said: “We are fully prepared for the cold weather. Our salt barns are well stocked, with around 20,000 tonnes of salt available, and our gritter fleet is ready to go. Earlier this year, all of our HGV gritter drivers received specialist driver training to equip them with the necessary advanced driving skills to stay safe in icy conditions. 

“However, we all need to make sure that we take extra care and drive according to the weather conditions at all times - even on the roads that have been salted. I’d ask drivers to please be patient around the salting lorries which need to keep to a maximum speed of 30 mph when spreading salt.

“We have provided salt bins in communities so that residents can help to reduce the risk of ice on their neighbourhood roads and pavements. Spreading just one tablespoon of salt (about 20 grammes) is sufficient to treat up to one square metre of road or pavement surface. I really appreciate the help residents provide during wintry conditions, and I would ask people to let us know if a salt bin needs refilling.” 
Hampshire’s main roads are always treated first. The 44 ‘Priority one’ routes carry the majority of Hampshire’s traffic - covering A roads, some B roads, roads to hospitals and other key emergency hubs, large schools and colleges and major bus routes. Each salt run takes approximately three to four hours to complete. 

Further information on salting routes and community salt bin locations is available on the County Council’s web pages: hants.gov.uk/transport/roadmaintenance/severeweather.