Scottish Borders Council is to fit Michelin’s XDW Ice Grip tyres across its fleet of 32 gritters.

The local authority trialled the tyres during the Beast from the East winter storms at the beginning of this year and found they offered a significant increase in grip compared to standard tyres.

John Martin, fleet manager at Scottish Borders Council, said: “Our drivers said the increased grip these tyres offered made them feel a lot safer in the most challenging of conditions.

“We want to operate safe vehicles that are responsive in the worst possible weather and we know these full-on winter tyres give our drivers the reassurance they need to do their jobs in the coldest conditions.

“The tyres should also reassure the public driving our roads during winter that we are providing a safe service.”

The XDW Ice Grip tyres are typically the preserve of fleets operating in the Nordic markets and parts of mainland Europe which will see extreme winter conditions.

Chris Smith, Michelin’s B2B sales director, said: “Scottish Borders Council told us they wanted their fleet to be as resilient to extreme weather events as possible, so we arranged to supply them with our very best snow and ice tyres.”