CHILDREN were unable to get to school this week because an icy lane had not been gritted.

Some parents have spoken of the dangerous conditions leading up to Gastrells Community Primary School in Rodborough.

The school in 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.

However, the final 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, has been calling for the lane to be gritted.

“Children in my son’s class have not come to school this week as their parents can’t get them to school safely,” she said.

“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.

“I emailed MP Siobhan Bailie but her team replied saying she was ‘not able to intervene’ and directed me back to Cllr Bloxsom.”

Councillor John Bloxsom (L, Rodborough) called on GCC to use common sense and grit the lane.

“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”

Highways cabinet member Dom Morris (C, Fairford and Lechlade on Thames) said the winter weather presents an enormous challenge which they are 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."