TEIGNMOUTH Town Council will be gritting some residential roads during snow and ice, but there are concerns about how much it will cost.

Cllr Vince Fusco insisted at a finance and general purposes committee on Tuesday that the task should be the job of the county council, which currently only treats main routes.

The county has donated two mini gritters and supplies of sand and grit to the town, which will be spread by volunteer snow wardens on roads and pavements during heavy snow falls.

Town clerk Dave Tickell said he had compiled a list of volunteers with 4 x 4 vehicles to help out, but said they would probably want their fuel and insurance costs covered.

Cllr Fusco was worried that taking on more and more responsibilities from the county and district councils would land the town with more expense.

'We just cannot sustain all these extra responsibilities without financial help. It could become a burden on our precept,' he said.

'It is the county council's job to keep the roads clear – local tax payers will be asked to pay twice for it.'

Mr Tickell said they could not estimate the extra costs until it was known which roads the council wanted to prioritise to keep clear. He emphasised that the county only gritted main roads, and treating side roads would be an extra service to benefit the community.

Cllr Dave Matthews said they could not guarantee all roads would be gritted, but believed bus routes should be a priority. They should treat the first year of the scheme as a trial to give an indication of the costs involved, and then make a decision on whether they wanted to continue or not.

Mr Tickell added that the volunteers would have to be trained, and the mayor, Cllr David Cox, warned: 'We do not want to be signing blank cheques.'

Councillors will prioritise the roads which should be gritted in their wards so a masterplan can be compiled.