Clear snow from a road, path or cycleway

    You can clear snow and ice from pavements yourself. It’s unlikely that you’ll be sued or held responsible if someone is injured on a path or pavement if you’ve cleared it carefully.

    How to clear snow and ice

    When you clear snow and ice:

    • do it early in the day – it’s easier to move fresh, loose snow
    • don’t use water – it might refreeze and turn to black ice
    • use salt if possible – it will melt the ice or snow and stop it from refreezing overnight (but don’t use the salt from salting bins as this is used to keep roads clear)
    • you can use ash and sand if you don’t have enough salt – it will provide grip underfoot
    • pay extra attention when clearing steps and steep pathways – using more salt may help

    Council gritting

    You can find out which roads and pavements your council grits in icy or snowy weather.