Anger at big freeze gritting

Dozens of people reacted angrily to a Facebook post by the local authority on Friday afternoon, which said: “Today we are gritting secondary routes, filling grit bins and gritting key sections of pavements”. One woman described the condition of school grounds as “shocking” while a pensioner said she was “stranded” at home.

There were also reports of falls and injuries. One parent said her young son needed stitches to his face and an x-ray of his shoulder after he fell on his way to school.

Another woman posted: “Kirkintilloch Leisure Centre car park and surrounding paths are completely impassable. Ridiculous situation”.

One resident added: “My friend’s son fell and burst his nose at Harestanes today, we are the the hospital now as it is possibly broken”.

Council roads boss Gail Macfarlane insisted on Monday: “Primary roads and footways in East Dunbartonshire were gritted repeatedly - in advance of the recent cold snap, during and after”.

She said that community grit bins were filled last week and similar this week, and that “as primary routes are cleared, gritters are then able to move onto secondary roads and footways”.

She added: “The combination of freezing rain and plunging temperatures caused issues nationwide.”