A FURIOUS Port resident says it is only a matter before someone is killed because of ‘dangerously icy’ roads being left untreated.

Donald Howieson said roads throughout Port Glasgow, were left like ‘ice rinks’ yesterday morning — a day after adverse weather warnings were issued for the area.

He said the situation was so treacherous at the junction between Barr’s Brae and Kinross Avenue that he swiftly phoned the police at about 7am, who then passed his complaint to Inverclyde Council.

Donald said that 20 minutes later a gritter lorry eventually appeared to tackle the treacherous conditions.

Donald, of Alderwood Crescent, told the Telegraph: “It is only a matter of time before someone is killed up here – that is my honest opinion.

“Yesterday morning there were a couple of accidents in the Barr’s Brae area as the road had not been gritted.

“It was me who phoned up to get the council out. I don’t think that it’s acceptable that it comes down to a member of the public.

“It’s got to the stage now where I feel I have to do something about it.” Donald, who works as a commercial diver in Dunoon, strongly feels that as the Port has many steep hills, it should be made a council priority.

But council bosses defended their response, stating that teams are on call 24/7 to respond to any weather related situation.

A spokesman said: “We prioritise gritting routes and our gritting teams receive round-the-clock updates on the weather situation and react accordingly at any time of day or night throughout the winter months.

“Routes are arranged to make sure most roads are treated, however under severe weather conditions gritters may have to concentrate on the higher priority roads. This includes routes to schools, hospitals and bus routes until resources can safely be transferred to other roads.” The spokesperson continued: “We will always respond to specific requests from emergency services and other agencies should a particular problem arise where the safety of the public may be at risk.

“The council has also invested in having more grit bins in streets across Inverclyde to make sure that residents have access to help handle particular local issues.” A spokeswoman for the police confirmed that it received a report about the icy roads in Port Glasgow which was passed on to the council.

She said: “A man phoned to say that the road at Kinross Avenue was like a sheet of ice so we contacted the council’s roads team about the matter.”