Mark Pack

The stories about legal accuracy and common sense when it comes to snow clearing just keep on breaking out this year:

CLAIMS that ‘elf and safety’ rules mean you could be sued if someone slips on the pavement after you have cleared it of snow have been dismissed by Taunton-based lawyers. (Somerset County Gazette)

and

Alex Salmond urged people to clear snow and ice outside their homes. He said: “There is no truth whatsoever that there is any risk of being sued if you clear the pavement outside your premises or house. (Daily Record)

Both of which follow the outbreak a few days ago in Merseyside.

All in all, thanks in large part to the government’s clear and sane advice this year, it looks like the myth that you shouldn’t clear snow from outside your home because you’ll end up getting sued is now well and truly killed off in the media rather than (as in previously years) regularly reported by the media as gospel.

So on my Christmas wish for next year, how about rather more shops taking clearing snow outside their own premises a little more seriously…?