Moray Council is hoping to recruit farmers and hauliers to help clear the region’s roads of snow this winter.
The local authority already has a network of contractors who help out in adverse conditions, but has unveiled moves to boost its fleet over the next few months.
A contract has been tendered encouraging would-be assistants to provide equipment to ensure the area can cope if blizzards strike.
The document urges people with suitable equipment to register their interest by the middle of November, so that officers can form plans for how to tackle snow during the following months.
Council leader Stewart Cree said farmers played a “vital part” in seeing the region through blasts of wintry weather.
Mr Cree said: “In previous years when we have been faced with extreme snow, we would never have got out if it had not been for the farmers.
“Sometimes it can be too deep to be ploughed, so you need those people with diggers to lift it up and clear the roads.
“The council can’t manage a fleet of vehicles like that on the off-chance that they are needed, we need people prepared to come out and help us.”
He added: “Those who enter into this really are providing a vital service.”
Participating farmers and firms will be paid on a one-off basis, as and when they are required.
And the authority has stressed that it can offer “no guarantee of work”.
A Moray Council spokesman added that the authority was looking to review its cover, and plug any gaps it has across the area.
He said: “For a number of years we have had a pool of local farmers who have been willing to help out with snow clearing in some of the more remote areas and we are very grateful to them for that assistance.
“However, periodically we need to review the cover in these areas and, as in this case, fill any gaps there might be.”
Applicants are asked to contact the council with their location, where they could assist, the type of equipment they have available and what help they could provide.
They are encouraged to respond by Wednesday, November 16, but later applications will be taken into account.
