Donegal people are certainly digging in for the continued cold snap after a local businessman told how he sold out of a huge consignment of salt in just hours.
Letterkenny-based provider John Watson sold an incredible 1,300 sacks of salt for gritting driveways and footpaths today.
John, who owns Watson Hire, took delivery of the truck-load of salt last night from Belfast.
But by 3pm this afternoon, almost the entire consignment was gone.
Mr Watson said the demand for the salt is even greater than it was during the last big freeze to hit Ireland in 2010.
“Back then the demand was big but people realised how good using salt was for helping to dissolve thick ice and make footpaths and driveways easier to use.
“This time around it is even bigger. We simply can’t keep up with demand for salt.
“We had a full lorry load delivered on Monday night. That’s 24 pallets with 52 bags of salt on each.
“That’s all gone now and we can’t get another delivery until Thursday. We have a few bags left but they’ll be gone too,” he said.
He estimates that within the past month he has sold over 5,000 bags of salt but the past couple of days has seen demand shoot through the roof.
And there is no sign of that demand freezing either!
Like the rest of the country, Donegal has been under a thick layer of ice and freezing fog in recent days.
Mr Watson said he is not sure what is driving the savage sales of salt but with the cold snap expected to last until Sunday at least, he knows he has to make sure he is “worth his salt” to keep up with demand!
He added “We’re traveling up to Belfast to the salt mines there to take another delivery is salt in. The demand is there and people need it for their homes and businesses so we can’t let them down.”
