The county council came under fire for its gritters “not prioritising” smaller roads near schools following adverse weather conditions at the weekend.

The Metropolitan Line and the A41 were among many closures due to the snow and ice on Sunday, December 10.

Drivers were also warned throughout the day to take care on the slippery roads and avoid non-essential journeys.

Hertfordshire County Council posted on social media that its gritters had been out ploughing and unloading salt onto the main roads around the region.

However, readers of the Watford Observer felt many smaller, secondary roads had been missed or salted too late.

One reader said: “Did the council grit the roads and pavements or are they trying to save money? A few centimetres of snow has fallen, not several metres.

“There should be provision to deal with it so people stay safe. The council shouldn’t be economising because it’s a Sunday and fewer people have to be out and about.”

Ian F Bram added there was “mayhem” on the roads.

He said: “A steep part of Aldenham Road in Bushey was not gritted.

There was mayhem between Hillside Road and Beechcroft Road and the 602 bus was stuck there at 10am.”

Another commenter said: “There are lots of cars sliding and stuck on Eastbury Road.

“Come on council you knew this was coming.”

County councillor Stephen GilesMedhurst believed the roads near some schools in Watford were “untouched” by the gritters.

He said: “The council did enough on the major routes but my concern is that the secondary routes near to schools.

“Oxhey Road where Bromet Primary School did not seem to have been touched and the council had a priority to do this but only seems to have focused on the main roads.

“I realise the bigger roads should have been the main priority but families should have been able to “get to school safely on Monday.”

However, Sandy Walkington, who is also a county councillor, felt residents could work with the council to think of “alternative solutions” to getting around on the icy roads.

He said: “It is always going to be a challenge with snow falling on Saturday night and also Sunday morning. Traffic on Sunday is always much slower as well which doesn’t help the salt getting crushed onto the roads.

“The pavements and footpaths were like ice rinks and trapped a lot of people in their houses. However, the council should work with residents and local councils to figure out a creative solution so everyone can work together to tackle the worst and most dangerous pathways.

“It is not just down to the county council – it is up to everyone to help each other out.”

In response, the county council said they completed nine gritting runs between Friday and Monday.

People have also been advised to look out for salt bins for "self-help" during the icy conditions. 

A spokesperon said: “There are 13 weather recording stations around the county which can warn us about bad weather conditions during winter. During winter, Hertfordshire County Council operates a ‘snow desk’ from the Integrated Transport Control Centre at County Hall, which responds to icy and snowy conditions and works closely with ‘blue light’ emergency services.

“When icy weather or snow is forecast, we grit major roads first. These are known as our primary routes and include A and B roads (not motorways) major bus routes, and one road in and out of each village.

“Last weekend, between lunchtime on Friday (8 December) and lunchtime on Monday (11 December) crews completed nine gritting runs – spreading circa 2,700 tonnes of salt and covering 21,500 km.

"Salt bins are also provided in more than 1,000 locations around the county for ‘self-help’ during icy weather. We also provide community salt via our self-help scheme to district, borough, town and parish councils, schools, resident associations and community groups."

People can find out when the council's gritters are going out by following the hashtag #grittertwitter on www.twitter.com/Herts_Highways