I'VE always preferred summer.

Light evenings, warm days, the chance to get out and about on my bike without freezing.

Now I’m a councillor I dread wintry weather even more.

But when it comes, like it did with a vengeance last week, there are some upsides amidst the challenges and inconveniences. Because the snow brings out the best in our community spirit, as people pull together to help each other through the disruption.

Roads take much of the focus as people try to maintain mobility, but that’s only part of the picture.

There are meals on wheels to deliver, vulnerable people with personal care or medical needs to reach and vital local services to keep running.

Over the weekend, I saw local residents pitching in to dig out cars and clear entire side streets.

I saw people with four wheel drive vehicles give NHS workers lifts to work and help deliver meals and volunteers checking on elderly neighbours, clearing around their houses and taking them food and drink.

This really is the best of our communities – people thinking about others, rolling up their sleeves and pitching in.

It’s often unfair to single people out, but a special thanks must be made to Virgo Care Homes who supported our carers to carry out visits by providing three 4x4s with drivers. The council workers who’ve been working 12 hour shifts, day and night to keep things running also deserve praise.

Their job is not easy – there’s never enough people or machinery to do every bit of road that needs clearing.

When the weather is as bad as it was, there are added pressures.

Drifting was a particular problem on Thursday and Friday, with blowing snow meaning main routes had to be ploughed and treated constantly to keep them passable.

It’s easy in those situations for people to get frustrated.

But what impressed me was how understanding most residents were.

They recognise the council has to focus on vulnerable residents and on the main roads, so they did their bit to look out for each other and also helped clear school sites.

Thanks also has to go to councillors for the contribution they made to the effort – communicating residents’ concerns and questions and helping out.

Thank you to everyone who played their part – you made me proud to be a part of our community.

After events like these, prime ministers often praise the response of councils and their workforce.

But that praise is just empty rhetoric unless they provide public services with proper funding for the future.

Proper funding to run vital services, keep things running and protect the vulnerable, and to give the workers who run those services a fair deal.

Otherwise, it’s services like winter maintenance and meals on wheels that will continue to suffer as the rug is pulled from under the funding of public services.

And snow or no snow, that would be a tragedy.