THOUSANDS of motorists were left chomping at the "grit" as predicted snowfalls brought chaos to the borough's roads.

Local authority bosses, however, have rejected claims they were caught cold by Monday's (Feb 3) snowfall and that their gritting operation was a failure. They said 300 tonnes of salt were spread on the borough's but their response will further enrage motorists who were trapped for up to four hours in huge tailbacks on Monday evening.

Traffic on the snowbound M66 was brought to a standstill as police closed the motorway and diverted motorists through Bury. Wash Lane, Rochdale Road, Bolton Road, Walmerlsey Road and Longsight Road were severely congested as a result of the diversion.

The most serious incidents involved the local ambulance service. One crew had to call Rossendale Mountain Rescue Team for assistance when their vehicle became marooned on a sheet of snow-covered ice at the top of Cliff Avenue in Summerseat. An elderly lady, with non-life threatening symptoms, was eventually taken to hospital two hours after calling for help.

Paramedics in Ramsbottom were also forced to grit the access road to their headquarters as heavy snow blocked their attempts to leave the Cemetery Road station.

Mr Stuart Rankine, operations manager for Bury, said: "Because the roads aren't cleared quick enough, it does slow our vehicles down and affects our performance. Despite the conditions on Monday, however, we still managed to meet the majority of our call out targets."

Motorists trapped in their cars included a paramedic based at Whitefield who left work at 7pm and arrived home in Helmshore four hours later, a similar delay suffered by a multitude of drivers.

Paul Shepherd spent three hours driving from Bury to his home in Holcombe Lee, Holcombe Brook. He described the council's gritting as a shambles. He said: "I work in Sale and there were no problems there. It was only when I left the motorway at the Heap Bridge junction at Bury at 6pm that I hit problems.

"I was just crawling all the way, and there was no evidence whatsoever of any gritting. It is an absolute shambles, and the council seem to get caught out every year. All we will get in return is another rise in our council tax."

Ramsbottom councillor Dorothy Gunther described the village as an "ice rink" and said that a council colleague suffered along with thousands of motorists. She said: "I received a number of calls about the state of the roads. It took Councillor Sheila Magnall two hours to make the journey from Bury to Ramsbottom. Some motorists even parked their cars and walked to their homes."

But the snow brought fun for some. Youngsters are pictured having a snowball fight in Bury's Pyramid Park.

Bury Council chief executive Mr Mark Sanders blamed Monday's problems on a combination of severe weather, road accidents and the closure of the M66.

He said: "The diversion of traffic from the motorway to Bury's roads made what was already a very difficult task almost impossible. All the council's gritters were in continuous use from 8.30am on Monday and worked through the day and night to spread more than 300 tonnes of salt on the roads.

"However, the closure of the motorway added to heavy rush hour traffic made it impossible for gritters to get through and, as a result, the second snowfall lead to serious traffic problems."

He added: "Perhaps the most important message we could ask would be to ask for the co-operation of motorists in allowing the gritters to get through.

But one Birtle resident caught up in Monday night's mayhem said: "The snow was forecast. It had been snowing off and on all day and yet no-one seemed to be able to work out that unless you grit the roads before rush hour, you can't get the gritter through. It's hardly rocket science and you think someone might have seen the news from down south last week and learnt from that almighty mess."

But for many residents, the snowfall provided picture postcard views while children were able to dig out their sledges or enjoy snowball fights.