Calls for school access road to be gritted after cold snap

The road was called 'dangerous' by some parents

Some children in Gloucestershire were not able to get into school due to an icy lane which had not been gritted.

Parents of some children at Gastrells Community Primary School in the Rodborough area of Stroud said the road was too treacherous for them to use.

Gloucestershire County councillor John Bloxsom called for "common sense" and for the council to grit the lane.

Cabinet member Dom Morris said winter presents an enormous challenge and not every road can be treated.

The school on Kingscourt Lane has 174 pupils and is less than 54 yards from Kitesnest Lane which is gritted by Gloucestershire County Council as a priority as it is a bus route, reports the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

The final ungritted stretch to the school was so hazardous that some parents could not get their children to school safely.

Katie Prince, whose son attends the school said: "Children in my son's class have not come to school this week as their parents can't get them to school safely."

"The school opened late on Tuesday to allow the staff to shovel as much snow and ice as they could. There was no grit left in any of the grit bins by Tuesday, so we were unable to grit ourselves, as advised by Councillor John Bloxsom."

'Ridiculous'

Mr Bloxsom said it was "ridiculous" the final stretch of road was not gritted.

"It's ridiculous taking a gritter uphill only to turn it around just short of a school entrance. County highways need to use common sense and sort this now," he said.

Mr Morris, cabinet member for highways, said the winter weather presents an enormous challenge which the council is working 24 hours a day to mitigate.

He said: "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 and 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.

Additional reporting by Emma Elgee

Follow BBC West on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Send your story ideas to: [e-mail]