VILLAGERS in Tarporley have been left house bound after gritters failed to de-ice village roads and grit boxes were left empty.

Tarporley parish councillor Linda Burrows said: “The footpaths and roads are just terrible around here. Everybody is just slipping and sliding about, and nobody can really go out.”

The High Street, Eaton Road and Nantwich Road have been covered by the gritters, but smaller roads have been left untreated and grit boxes are empty.

Cllr Burrows said: “I don’t understand why they haven’t gritted the roads and footpaths on slopes. Oathills Drive is just a nightmare, you just can’t get the grip to get up it.”

A Cheshire County Council spokesman said: “With 3,000 miles of county maintained roads, it would be prohibitively expensive to treat the entire network. 1,200 miles are normally treated, about 40% of the network. “