RESIDENTS have slammed a taxpayer-funded magazine which said road chiefs were ready for snow – days before the weather brought Buckinghamshire to a standstill.

Buckinghamshire County Council's quarterly magazine, Buckinghamshire Times, proclaimed “True Grit – Buckinghamshire gets ready for winter” on the cover of its latest edition, delivered to 200,000 residents from December 14.

The article said eight new gritters would “keep the county’s routes in top-notch condition this winter”.

Roads were gridlocked last Monday and many drivers had to abandon their cars.

Mayor of Beaconsfield Councillor Ken Brown said: “I think there's a bit of egg on people's faces after what happened.”

One Hazlemere resident wrote on our website: “When will these people realise that well done always trumps well said. We will tell you when you have done a good job.”

But Bill Chapple, the Conservative-controlled council's deputy leader, said the article was “entirely appropriate”.

Roads were gritted, the council has said, but severe cold lessened its effect.

Cllr Chapple said: “We have to weigh up what is practical and deliverable with what is affordable.”

The publications have provoked national controversy. One reader this week calls the BCC title a “complete waste of taxpayers’ money”.

And this year culture secretary Ben Bradshaw said they were often “propaganda sheets masquerading as newspapers”.

After advertising, the magazine cost taxpayers £112,000 last year, down from £204,000 in 2006/07.

Cllr Chapple said it is a “cost-effective” way to keep people informed and it was supported by “many of our residents”.

The magazine is set to combine into one title with four other councils’ publications next year, he said, to save cash.