Drivers are being warned to take care after it emerged that gritters in Carmarthenshire won’t work evenings in the run-up to Christmas.

Union bosses have warned of traffic chaos after it emerged they had voted in favour of an overtime ban between 19 and 20 December meaning gritters won’t work in the evening unless a pay dispute is resolved.

And Mark Evans, Unison’s Carmarthenshire branch secretary, said “more substantial action” would take place after Christmas unless there was a better pay offer from the council.

“This could get very nasty, or it could get sorted out very quickly,” said Mr Evans.

Speaking last Friday after the ballots had been held, Stephen Pilliner, the council’s head of highways and transport, said: “We are continuing to meet with the trades unions, with a further meeting due to take place in the middle of next week.”

The vast majority of Carmartheshire County Council’s road gritters are union members. Just over 50 of them are with the GMB.

Unite has the smallest membership and was the last to hold a ballot last week.

The unions claim their members have some of the worst road gritting terms and conditions in Wales.

They get overtime pay, but unions want a better weekly retainer offer from the council.

See this week’s south papers for the full story, available in shops and as a digital edition now