A pensioner claims he was kept prisoner in his own home for an entire weekend – because the roads leading to his home had not been gritted.

Mike Atkinson, who lives on Old Bridge Rise, Ilkley, contacted the Gazette after reading about an incident on nearby Stockeld Road.

A group of schoolchildren narrowly missed serious injury on the last day of term after a car spun out of control on the ungritted steep incline which leads down towards Ilkley Park.

Heavy snow that fell on Friday, December 18, had turned to ice in freezing pre-Christmas temperatures.

Mr Atkinson, 76, says the road was so bad that neither he nor some of his neighbours dared venture out until the ice began to thaw.

Now he is calling for Bradford Council to consider making the area a priority for gritters during periods of heavy snow.

He said: “Stockeld Road and Old Bridge Rise, which is just around the corner, drop to the north and are quite steep so they get almost no sun on the ground at all in the winter – even at midday. They are quite treacherous.

“I contacted Bradford Council about the danger twice over that weekend (December 18-21) but by Wednesday there had been no response.

“Not all of us here are young and we fear for our bones. We are virtually prisoners in our own homes.”

Retired clergyman Mr Atkinson ack-nowledged how chaotic the situation was for the authority during the bad weather.

He said: “Bradford must be a difficult authority to service in this weather and I do know that a lot of Ilkley is in a similar state but some attention and assistance would be welcome.

“At a pinch we could operate our own salt box, perhaps put half-way up the hill? I have lived here for 12 years and have only seen it gritted twice. We watch cars struggling to get up and down the road every time it snows and many get stuck.”

Ian Bairstow, Bradford Council strategic director, environment and neighbour-hoods, said: “We routinely grit approximately 65 per cent of the roads in the district, this is beyond the national guidelines of between 25 and 38 per cent. “During periods of extreme weather, we prioritise arterial roads, essential links, bus routes, roads connecting isolated communities and access for hospitals, fire stations and schools.

“The recent prolonged period of inclement weather is also starting to put pressure on national stocks of road salt and we need to ensure that we have the capacity to keep priority routes open.

“Members of the public should be aware that during periods of snow or very cold weather, roads and pavements that have been treated with salt can remain hazardous and we recommend that people make proper preparations before they travel.

“The forecast is for more snow and cold weather over the next few days and we will be doing all that we can to make sure that the district’s main routes are kept as clear as possible to ensure that people can get around the district and that we can keep traffic flowing to enable the gritters to access and treat the road network.”