A SPECIAL winter event will next week to prepare Tendring residents for the coming season.

There will be a chance to pick up hot tips and vital advice to help to get ready for the conditions ahead which can pose a variety of problems.

Among those attending the event at Wix Village Hall will be UK Power Network, Public Health, Affinity Water, Essex Fire and Rescue, as well as Tendring Council’s emergency planning team.

The Get Ready for Winter event is being run by Tendring Council and Wix Parish Council in support of a national campaign by the Met Office.

The aim of the initiative is to raise awareness of the risks winter brings and their consequences, to raise awareness of flood risks and their consequences and to highlight straight forward advice such as top tips for travelling, health and well-being and preparing the home.

Lynda McWilliams, cabinet member for leisure, health and wellbeing, urged people to make the very most of the opportunity.

“We can always be better prepared and it is good to be able to discuss issues with the experts,” she said.

“It is very important that our residents – especially the more vulnerable - manage to cope with all the various situations that can arise, and stay safe and well.”

For those turning up there will be a chance to win a pair of tickets to Clacton's Princes Theatre’s panto Sleeping Beauty.

A firework safety code poster competition run for pupils at Wix and Wrabness Primary School will also be judged on the day and as its half term there will be a special guest appearance by Elsa from Frozen.

The event is being held in Wix Village Hall, in Harwich Road, on Thursday, October 27, from 10am to 4pm.