SAFETY concerns have been raised by residents who say pavements and paths in Cirencester were left in a treacherous state during the cold spell.
Snow and ice hit the area last week as temperatures plunged, causing schools to close and traffic disruption.
But while most main roads were gritted, many paths were left untreated and in dangerous conditions, say residents.
Victoria Stevens from Cirencester said that pavement in Mount Street, Chesterston, was 'treacherous' and 'completely unsafe' after her daughters fell over.
“My eldest daughter fell over in Mount Street on Friday, hitting her head on the kerb and a parked car," said Ms Stevens, who works at Cirencester Opportunity Group in Beeches Road.
“Her younger sister fell in the same area a couple of days earlier.
“I have also fallen over in the same area when walking from Chesterton to the Beeches to work.
“I had a choice of walking on the treacherous untreated pavement and risk falling or walking in the road, neither of which was safe.
“I am aware of some families who did not send their children to primary school and our early years group due to being scared of walking on icy pavements.
“These children missed out on a hot meal in warm settings.
“I also heard that one mum fell on the icy pavement and aggravated an existing back injury.
“There was no grit or salt available locally.”
Cotswold District Council leader Joe Harris said the lack of extra gritting was due to local government funding cuts.
“I’m very sorry to hear about your daughter and hope she’s on the mend,” he said.
“12 years of funding cuts to local government means fewer routes are cleared and gritted."
Cllr Harris was asking for locations of dangerous areas in the hope that volunteers could help.
Kind-hearted helpers across the district have been taking it upon themselves to make routes safer.
One dedicated pair Bob and Sarah from Chesterton Community Project salted the underpass at the top of Chesterton Lane.
Cllr Dom Morris, cabinet member for highways at Gloucestershire County Council, said: “The winter weather presents an enormous challenge which we are working 24 hours a day to mitigate.
“We treat almost 1,000 miles of key routes on each gritting run and have been doing two or three runs each day during this cold snap.
"But unfortunately we are unable to reach every road in Gloucestershire.
“We prioritise A and B roads as well as main routes near schools.
“Where we are unable to grit roads, we provide communities, including schools and parish councils, bags of salt to ensure they have the equipment they need to keep their community safe.
“Weather like this shows our communities at their best.
"I’ve been heartened by the dedication of volunteers who have helped us keep schools, driveways, footpaths and cycle paths safe and open.
“I’d also like to thank our gritting teams who are working long hours to keep residents safe in this dangerous weather.
GCC’s key routes include roads leading to main hospitals, ambulance stations, police stations and fire stations, some strategic public transport routes, roads serving main shopping centres, and the majority of secondary schools.
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