LANCASHIRE County Council is advising people to be prepared for snow following a Met Office yellow warning across the north west this afternoon.

The council said its gritting crews have been working around the clock over the past week, and with snow forecast they are ready to treat roads across the whole county from this afternoon onwards.

A spokesman said:"This will involve the treatment of the main routes throughout the county including non-trunk motorways and A roads, B roads and single routes in and out of villages."

The county council said it would be carrying out the following activity this evening: * All priority routes in East Lancashire will be gritted this evening, and we will continue to treat secondary routes, once priority routes are clear. We are also continuing to grit the priority footways during the daytime.

* All priority routes in Chorley, Preston, South Ribble and West Lancashire will be gritted this evening.

* All priority routes in Lancaster, Fylde and Wyre will be gritted this evening.

The spokesman added: "Drivers on the night shift will be patrolling and monitoring all routes across the county and treating them where necessary throughout the night. We will also continue to refill grit bins and replenish salt piles where necessary.

"The county council is well-prepared for the current cold snap with over 30,000 tonnes of salt in stock and 49 gritters at ten depots across the county.

"Of the 4,300 miles of road the county council is responsible for, around a third (1,500 miles) are part of the priority road network for salting and snow clearing during the winter. People are urged to take extra care on the roads and allow extra time for journeys.

To find out when and where the council is gritting visit www.lancashire.gov.uk/winter or follow on Twitter @LancashireCC and Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/lancashirecc) for regular updates on gritting activity – look out for #LancsWinter.