Drivers are being urged to give gritters “time and space” after some of the vehicles were involved in collisions.

National Highways issued the plea as its salt-spreading operations ramp up this week due to freezing temperatures, particularly in northern England.

The Government-owned company, which manages England’s motorways and major A roads, said five of its gritters were struck and damaged by other vehicles last winter, compared with just one in winter 2021-22.

Darren Clark, severe weather resilience manager at National Highways, said: “It is quite shocking that five of our gritter vehicles were struck while in the course of their duties last winter.

“With the current winter conditions it is a timely reminder for drivers to give our vehicles the time and space they need to do their jobs to keep everyone safe.

“If you are going to pass us, please do so courteously, pass us safely and legally.

“If you are able to stay back, you will actually help the salt on the road activate even more quickly by crushing and breaking it into the road surface which benefits everyone.

“We are totally committed to working around the clock on these seasonal operations to keep all road users safe and thank everyone in advance for their patience and understanding.”

Gritters spread rock salt on roads, which combines with moisture to prevent ice forming when temperatures drop below the freezing point for water.

National Highways has about 530 gritters, which is about one for every eight miles of road it manages.

The company started the winter with about 280,000 tonnes of salt at its 128 depots.

In October last year, National Highways launched a £15.4 million project to modernise 125 of its weather stations to enable it to make better decisions on when to deploy gritters.

Salt does not directly melt snow, so it is important gritters are deployed before snowfall.