Bracknell Forest Council has reassured the town that should the 'Beast from the East' hit, there is enough salt to cope with another cold snap. 

The Met Office has issued a major Sudden Stratospheric Warning (SSW) - a sudden rise in temperatures which can lead to a blocking of high pressure - which is predicted to occur later this month or in early March.

It was a major SSW that brought the Beast from the East in 2018, which saw parts of the UK covered in 22 inches of snow, and caused £1.2 billion of damage to the economy.

A spokesperson from Bracknell Forest Council said: “The council’s standard winter resilience measures remain in place to ensure we are fully prepared for any adverse weather conditions.

"Our gritters can be fully loaded with rock salt and ready to treat roads with an hour’s notice.

"The council has sufficient salt reserves to cover any extreme weather conditions, however, as an added contingency we are currently topping up these reserves."

However, the Met Office has stressed that an SSW does not necessarily mean that the country will be hit with Beast of the East like weather conditions.

A Met Office spokesperson said: "Any impacts from the SSW on UK weather wouldn’t be felt until late February and early March.

"An SSW doesn’t mean there will be a ‘Beast from the East’.

"In 2019 we had an SSW which had no direct impact on the UK’s weather.

"In short, we don’t yet know how this SSW will influence our weather at this range.

"We’ll be watching how the SSW occurs in the coming days and the outlook will become clearer."