DWFire: 'Focus on the road this winter'

Dorset and Wiltshire Fire Service are imploring drivers to stay safe this winter as the conditions become tricky.

With it being Road Safety Awareness Week, the fire service said that the colder temperatures and earlier nights can cause more accidents.

Group manager for the fire service, Shaun Milton spoke about the challenges that firemen face when attending an incident.

He said: "When crews arrive at the scene, obviously it can be really complex. We might have a number of vehicles that might be unstable, traffic could be moving around and and of course people might be trapped.

So we work closely with ambulance and police just to make sure the scene's safe and support any extrications or removal of people from a car if need be.

"This time of year, obviously with weather being icy or just darkness can add that extra difficulty."

Last year, there were 1200 collisions on Wiltshire roads with 19 fatalities - according to government figures.

Shaun continued by talking about what people can do to stay safe on the roads.

He said: "It is important to make sure your vehicle is obviously roadworthy. So always check your tyres and lights before you set off.

"We appreciate phones are a commonplace and everything we do in our lifetimes now, but certainly put them away while you're driving.

"Even hands free is obviously is technically acceptable, but it can be a hazard, so really you need to have full focus on the road."

• swindon