New stats from Goodyear Dunlop show that demand for its winter tyres from police forces across the UK increased by nearly 30% from 2012 to 2013.

Kiran Panchal, Goodyear Dunlop, fleet key account manager, said: ‘‘The common misperception about winter tyres is that they only really deliver in the snow – but in fact winter tyres can improve performance in more common cold weather conditions, such as in the wet and icy temperatures.

‘It’s also easy to forget that during 2013 the UK experienced 124 days of ground frost – there may have been little or no snow, but braking and cornering are heavily impacted when the ground temperature is near or below 0 degrees Celsius.’

Panchal continued: ‘Clearly those fleets with vehicles required to be on the road all year round don’t want to see any change in performance between the summer and winter months. We know that the most effective way to ensure more predictable and safer performance during cold weather conditions is to fit winter tyres.’