Sir, – District councillor Tony Pelton wrote last week about a district council matter - bin collecting.

Unfortunately he included a cheap throwaway remark that suggested that North Yorkshire County Council does not take its winter maintenance responsibilities willingly.

Let me put him straight. Not only does North Yorkshire have the biggest road network in the country, at over 8,000km, but we also grit a higher percentage of our network than most other authorities, and spend £7 million a year doing it. One week of gritting our roads is approximately the same as driving once around the world.

We would like to do more, but the above figures put the issue in context. Far from being unwilling, in these times of austerity we have protected this budget as we realise how important this is to our communities. To suggest otherwise is to devalue the great work that our teams of road workers and their managers do throughout the winter, 7 days a week, 24 hours a day.

Cllr Carl Les, Leader, North Yorkshire County Council