WHILE many were out enjoying the snowy conditions over the weekend, pedestrians and motorists in Petersfield struggled to cope with the icy roads and slippery pavements.
The main routes through the town were gritted, but out in the residential streets the subzero conditions made driving hazardous.
And on Monday evening pavements around Petersfield were submerged in slushy snow and ice.
Richard Willock, of Tilm
ore Road, said: "Not once over the last three days have we seen a gritter up Tilmore Road and the road was blocked due to abandoned vehicles and vans for the best part of Monday morning.
"My girlfriend could not get to work due to the blockage and general state of the roads.
"Particularly hazardous were the pavements around The Square and outside St Peter's Church on Sunday morning when churchgoers and bell-ringers were having great difficulty getting to the church.
"I would like to know what plans the council is putting in place to grit pavements and thoroughfares and whether priority should not just be given to roads?"
Sally Wells, of Fyning Lane, Rogate, was unhappy with the state of the Central Car Park in Petersfield, which was not gritted on Monday.
She said: "What really gets me is that the council charges you money to use its car park, but yet it was not gritted at all.
"There were people old and young slipping all over the place.
"It must have affected trade as it was quiet in town during the day - what happened to the days when shopkeepers were allowed to grit it all themselves?"
She added East Hampshire District Council phoned her to say the car park was fully gritted on Tuesday.
Conditions forced EHDC to suspend nearly all bin collections on Tuesday.
The decision was made after roads around the Alton Material Recycling Facility, where the collection vehicles are based, were deemed too dangerous to use.
On Monday evening Alton was cut off when nine inches of snow fell in about four hours.
Collection vehicles failed to make it back to the depot while some crewmen had to spend the night on site after being snowed in.
EHDC communications officer Will Parsons said a few routes were still outstanding from Friday, December 18 and Monday, December 21.
It is hoped the vehicles will be able to go out today to complete Wednesday's collections and then catch up incomplete routes, starting with the most overdue.
Mr Parsons said: "In the meantime residents are asked to be patient and put out bins on the usual day and leave overdue bins out until collected.
"Under the extreme circumstances some extra rubbish will be collected if double-bagged and left by the bin."
Some rounds will be collected in the Rowlands Castle area, where the roads are less hazardous, by a vehicle based in Portsmouth.
