THE district council is pledging to do its best to open the city centre market as usual in St Albans tomorrow despite snow still on the ground and the prospect of more freezing conditions tonight.

Chief excecutive Dan Goodwin said: “We are going to do our very best to get the market open, especially given that it is the last weekend before Christmas, but we cannot guarantee a full service.

“The market is usually assembled at 3am to 5am and an overnight frost will make this hazardous.

“The snow may prevent the stall erectors, and indeed stall holders, from attending.

“We are getting the market as clear as possible and gritting it today, in the hope that we will be able to have as normal a service as possible. The only alternative was to cancel which the whole team felt was definitely not the right decision.

“Other services, particularly culture & community development, are checking their stockpiles of salt in case it is needed for clearance.”