It's not only driving conditions that are affected by the freezing weather. Across the county potholes are forming all over the network as the snow and ice causes our roads to crack. Repairing this damage is a major task, and one that is likely to cost the council up to £5million next year. But it is a priority. To tackle the problem Gloucestershire County Council has launched Operation Road Rescue.

During a crisis Gloucestershire residents are very good at rallying around and helping each other - the floods of 2007 taught us that.

A dedicated team of 100 people, 34 gritters and around 7,500 tonnes of salt helped keep the county's roads moving during the recent bad weather. Gloucestershire County Council's highways teams worked around the clock when temperatures dropped to reveal the worst winter this country has seen in 29 years.

Hundreds of people logged onto Gloucestershire County Council's website www.gloucestershire.gov.uk every day during the recent bad weather.

Gloucestershire County Council is issuing tips and advice on safer driving in winter weather.

Gloucestershire County Council's Fire & Rescue Service teamed up with the Great Western Ambulance Service (GWAS) during the bad weather.

You can't help but have noticed the extreme weather that the UK has been experiencing since the New Year. But, is this the result of climate change or the earth's natural cycle of heating and cooling? Whatever you believe, we all have to do our bit to reduce carbon emissions in future.