A NEW £7m fleet of gritters is getting ready to roll - while highways chiefs are urging drivers to take extra care this winter.

They say the 45 new machines will help them keep roads open, but motorists should check weather forecasts and keep warm clothes and food in their vehicles in case temperatures drop.

They are also urging drivers not to travel in severe weather, to carry de-icer and a scraper and check travel news before taking to the road.

Motoring organisations are warning people not to be 'complacent' after a mild autumn.

Forecasters already predict sharp drop in temperatures at weekend, with blizzards forecast for Scotland. The Met Office says night temperatures in Greater Manchester will be only just above freezing.

The gritter fleet will be deployed across Greater Manchester, Cheshire, Merseyside and parts of Lancashire over the coming months. Peter Hallsworth, winter maintenance manager at the Highways Agency, said: "The new gritters will boost our capacity to keep motorways and trunk roads open and safe to use.

"We will work closely with the Met Office to ensure we are on the ball with the latest forecasts, and get information from our electronic systems on motorways which can tell us the road surface temperature."

The first of the gritters was unveiled at the Highways Agency depot at Westhoughton, near Bolton, to coincide with national Road Safety Week. The gritters - costing £116,000 each - will spray rock salt on 320 miles of motorways and trunk roads and also have bigger snow ploughs to cope with changing conditions.

Mr Hallsworth added: "We combine the best of technology with the best of human know-how - the people who understand the region, its weather and its road network."

The AA says complacency could lead to a 'winter of discontent' if drivers do not ensure their cars are ready for cold.