Fury as roads are left off county council gritting routes

Residents claim they have to brave dangerous conditions if they want to leave their homes or visit nearby shops for vital food stocks.

Michael Ashford, 32, was met with an uphill battle when he attempted to purchase supplies for his six-month-old daughter on Thursday afternoon.

In a bid to leave his partner’s Compass Point home in Fareham, the father said: ‘The property is at the bottom of a hill and it is a nightmare to try and drive up.

‘It’s disappointing the street doesn’t come under the council’s gritting routes because I would say there is a need for it here.

‘There’s a salt bin up the road but the contents were rock hard when I tried to spread them.’

To keep regional transport safe, Hampshire County Council (HCC) spreads salt on so-called ‘priority one’ routes – the most used, including those close to hospitals, schools and interchanges – as well as ‘priority two’ and community routes.

Compass Point does not fall under these circuits.

Since the cold snap hit, HCC has refilled thousands of community salt bins, which are for use on public roads and pavements and can be used to help ‘join up’ to main roads.

An authority spokesperson said: ‘Hampshire Highways have been running a round-the-clock operation, covering around 9,000 miles of roads so far, spreading 2,000 tonnes of salt.’

Forecasts predict temperatures across Portsmouth will peak at 6C today and 8C on Sunday, with snow unlikely but rain on the way.