IT’S a shame that so few writers to HAS know anything of winter tyres.

They are made of a softer compound that comes into its own, particularly on ice, under 7°C and designed with a clever, but not chunky, tread pattern which grips snow.

Two-wheel-drive cars (including the much-maligned BMWs) can out-perform many four-wheel-drive cars equipped with standard tyres in wintry conditions.

A winter legal requirement in parts of Europe, I’ve used them for years, putting them on at the end of October and removing them again in the spring.

Not only can you pull away and drive up inclines, they help you stop the car too.

They are really quite useful.

Bill Oldfield, Teesdale.