Louise Malone, whose daughter is a pupil at Fordbank Primary, said the path leading into the Johnstone school was like an ‘ice-rink’ after being left untreated for days.

The mum said the situation was so treacherous that a number of parents have contacted the school and Renfrewshire Council to demand urgent action be taken to clear it.

However she said a gritter lorry never arrived until days later to tackle the hazard — despite it being the only entrance to the school.

Louise told The Gazette: “It’s completely unacceptable. It’s been a problem for years when the weather gets bad and it’s extremely dangerous for the children who could end up seriously injured if they fell.

“The pathway is the only way they can get into Fordbank primary so I think it’s quite scary that nothing is being done to grit the path.

“It should be a priority for the council, especially since a woman fell and broke her arm on it last week. It’s not safe and it’s an absolute death trap.” Lisa Smith, from Corseford, said it was “shocking” that the council had taken two days to clear the grit after complaints were launched.

She added: “I’ve seen numerous kids falling on the ice and one woman who was walking her dog and fell and banged her head. It’s been completely neglected and it should never have been as this is the only way for kids to get into the school.” Both mums said the paths and walkways in Corseford became frozen last weekend and became so hazardous parents were afraid to walk their children to school.

The council said they had received “several complaints” about gritting but added that arrangements were already being made for the area around the school to be treated.

A campaign has now been launched by parents in Corseford area in a bid to speed up gritting priorities in future.

“It is an accident waiting to happen with parents and young children making their way to school in the morning,” Louise continued. “I have never noticed the council grit those paths in the four winters I have lived in Corseford.

“I could not find one single grit bin in the whole of Corseford. That is completely unacceptable. The nearest one is on the Glasgow platform at Milliken Park train station, which to get to you have to manage up a steep hill, which is also frozen, walk over the bridge and down the stairs and then back again.

“I propose at least three large grit bins should be placed in Corseford Avenue, one at either end and one in the middle, which would be accessible to most residents and also to the trucks that deliver the grit. Otherwise someone else is going to end up seriously hurt.” George MacDonald, another local parent from Johnstone, said he had written to Councillor John Hood to complain about the issue also.

He said: “What is waiting for our children on their way to school? Broken bones and cracked skulls.

“We were promised the path would be gritted by 3pm last week. It wasn’t. We have to get this pathway a priority for the council.” Mum Louise McLuskie, from Corseford, also called on the council to change their priorities after expressing fears an accident could happen again in future.

She added: “I’ve got a toddler son I have to take along the path with my daughter so it’s not as if we can hold onto a bannister or anything.

“The area is like an ice rink. It’s a ten-minute job that could be easily fixed so hopefully they will make sure this is a priority in future.” There has also been complaints over “lethal” roads and pavements which residents said weren’t gritted properly in the Erskine, Bishopton and Inchinnan areas of Renfrewshire.

Barbara Campbell, who contributes to the Down Your Way section of The Gazette, said “The pavements and paths were lethal and there was no chance of you getting out safely to go to the shops, doctors or hospital appointments. So, how the elderly and those with mobility issues got on were anybody’s guess.

“Without a doubt, most folk that contacted myself felt council tax money is paid in good faith to the council, but very little seems to be coming back to Erskine. Some were incensed some areas seemed to be gritted whilst others never saw a gritter for days and even when it did turn up the one time it went up the street it wasn’t really effective in clearing the ice, as you said it needed more than one treatment.

“Most couldn’t see what the point in gritting the main roads were when you couldn’t get out the estates to use the main roads.” A spokesman for Renfrewshire Council said: “The sustained freezing weather lasted a week and imposed heavy demands on our gritting programme for pavements and roads. Gritters worked 24 hours a day for a week on 3000 miles of road. In addition, 90 miles of footpaths across Renfrewshire across Renfrewshire have been prioritised for gritting.

“We redeployed staff specifically to work on pavements, including the approach to Fordbank Primary. Because of the forecast severity of the weather, we started that gritting programme for pavements immediately rather than seeing how the weather developed over several days. The approach to Fordbank Primary was treated as part of that programme of salting pavements “Some of that work can only be done on foot and it takes a few days to complete.”