BFP reporter hitches a ride with a gritter (From Bucks Free Press)

BFP reporter hitches a ride with a High Wycombe gritter

5:06pm Friday 8th January 2010 in News By Lawrence Dunhill

WYCOMBE gritter Paul Gibb-Narey has been greeted by plenty of rude gestures in recent weeks, but we hitched a lift with him to answer the question on everyone's lips - where has he been?

When I meet him at the Handy Cross depot he looks tired and a bit suspicious. The 47-year-old has just filled up his gritter from the big dome of salt, which is running out fast.

A national salt shortage means Buckinghamshire County Council has limited its salt to emergency routes only.

We jump in the truck and as we drive to Stokenchurch I decide to launch straight in and ask him what went wrong on December 21 - the night when thousands of drivers were left stranded in High Wycombe.

Paul blows his cheeks out and says: “I've never seen a situation like that before – that night was the most hectic I've ever worked.

“I honestly don't think we could have done any better. It was the sheer volume of traffic at the time that really snarled things up.

“There were four gritters stuck in the yard which couldn't get out because of all the traffic – then three were out on the roads and couldn't get back in to get more salt.”

When he did finally get out of the depot, Paul said it took five hours to get through Henley Road in Marlow – a journey that would normally take 20 minutes.

He said: “It was total chaos because the road was completely blocked. At one point there was a lorry right across the road – in the end we got it moving by throwing salt under the wheels.”

“When people say where were the gritters the answer is 'stuck in traffic'.”

Paul says he has been hurt by the criticism his team has received and is sick of being greeted by sarcastic clapping, rude gestures or people shouting 'about bloody time'.

Having only had two days off since December 21 and working an average of 15 hours a day, he thinks he deserves some praise instead:

“People don't realise how hard we've been working. I'd like to see any of those people come and try this.”

We turn on to the B482 towards Lane End and I notice he doesn't have the radio on.

“No it doesn't work properly”, he says. “ It will work for a bit and then cut out so I don't bother any more.”

This seems quite a big problem to me but Paul doesn't seem fussed. Perhaps the views make up for it and he says “this is one of the prettiest bits” as we look across snow-topped hills towards Bourne End and Wooburn.

Paul tells me his wife has been “going mad” with him being out all the time. They live in Gerrards Cross and got married six months ago.

“This weather pretty much ruined our first Christmas together”, he said.

After Lane End we go through what the gritters call the 'Piccadilly bends' and Paul points out the abandoned cars.

At Marlow we turn on to Henley Road and drive on to Skirmett.

Along the way residents try to wave us off the route to grit their roads. Paul says: “I'd love to go and do those roads but we'd have no salt left now if we'd started doing that.”

We then grit roads in Fingest and Frieth before driving back into Lane End and over to Cressex.

I ask Paul what he's going to be doing when the snow clears - “bloody potholes” is the answer.