Buckinghamshire council chiefs say they have enough salt to cope amid fears of a second 'Beast from the East' in the coming weeks.

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.

Steven Broadbent, Cabinet Member for Transport, said: “We are confident that we have sufficient stock in our purpose built salt-barns at our depots, even if faced with another cold spell.

"We continue to monitor our stock amounts as well as the forecast and will move the salt around to suit requirements across the county if needed.”

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: "We’re monitoring how this SSW occurs in the coming days and will likely to be able to say a little more next week about what this might mean for UK weather.

"What we can say is that the second half of February is likely to be largely mild, albeit with some cool spells possible in the south overnight in particular.

"Any impacts from the SSW wouldn’t be felt until the end of February, and it’s simply too early to provide details on if and how the SSW will affect UK weather."