Sir – The practice of putting many tons of salt on to roads and pavements (so-called gritting), as a de-icing strategy, cannot be environmentally desirable. The salt eventually ends up on soil and in water-courses. It is also unkind to vehicles, can never cover a large fraction of rural and suburban localities, and is in any case not sustainable.

We should be investigating alternative strategies. So far as pavements are concerned, it used to be the case that home and business owners were responsible for the length of pavement outside their homes/businesses. I suggest that we should re-introduce this practice.

Neighbours/friends/family would help elderly/ill/infirm people; councils would be responsible only for communally-owned areas. All very socially integrative.

Chris Osman, Oxford