Law firm attempts to require gritting

Wiltshire-based law firm Thring Townsend has made an application to the European Court of Human Rights seeking a change in the law so that local authorities are required to take adequate measures to prevent the formation of ice on roads by gritting them.The application follows the case of Geoffrey Goodes, who lost control of his car on a patch of black ice on the A267 in east Sussex in 1991.

He suffered catastrophic injuries that left him paralysed from the neck down.His claim for damages against East Sussex County Council for failing to grit the road reached the House of Lords, which decided that under current legislation, highways authorities have no duty to grit or salt roads.

As a result, there could be no redress for those who are in accidents caused by icy roads, it said.ends -Neil Rose