Calls have been made to extend council gritting to areas outside schools and other hotspots after a number of accidents were reported in icy conditions.

Plaid Cymru councillor Marc Jones, who represents the Grosvenor ward, said he and his fellow Plaid Cymru councillors had a number of calls about slippery pavements and side roads last week.

A snow and ice warning was in place from Monday to Thursday, with a further ice warning in place until 10am on Friday (January 20).

While gritters were out on main roads and priority routes, using approximately 650 tonnes of gritting salt across Wrexham, it was the non-priority routes where accidents were happening. 

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Cllr Jones said: "The council has been busy ensuring main roads are open and we're all grateful for that. I know a lot of residents will also have made use of grit bins to clear pavements in their own areas. On Friday the frozen conditions made walking on pavements very difficult and some side roads are more like ice rinks.

"Plaid councillors across the borough were getting reports of people slipping and injuring themselves as well as bin lorries being unable to access side roads due to poor conditions. I'm aware that at least one school in Offa had been gritted following a fall by someone taking a child to school. 

"While I'm grateful for the round-the-clock work done by the gritting teams, I've asked the lead member Hugh Jones whether - in these very icy conditions - we can extend the gritting to outside schools and to certain difficult side roads that are on hilly ground.

"I've also asked for a comprehensive list of grit bins so that people are aware of where they can grit their own pavements. This is a two-way process and we should all work together to make sure everyone is safe."

A spokesperson for Wrexham Council said: "During adverse weather such as what we experienced last week we have a statutory duty to keep roads safe and in order to do so we have to prioritise certain operations and routes utilising all available resources.

"Our first priority is the most heavily trafficked routes and those surrounding important areas such as hospitals and access to Wrexham Industrial Estate. These areas will be pre-salted and may need re-visiting several times a day depending on the weather.

"Last week’s weather has meant that the majority of the time we have only been able to work on our first priority routes.

"Once works on our first priority routes have been completed our teams are then able to work on other lesser priority problem areas such as footways and cycle routes. Our teams will then return to the priority 1 routes as and when required for pre-salting and gritting.

"This continuous cycle of winter treatment continues until freezing conditions are forecast to relent."

Cllr Hugh Jones, Lead Member for Environment asked residents to be vigilant and to take precaution when travelling following the cold weather.