Kilsyth hit by roads chaos

Drivers have been forced to abandon their cars in snow drifts while youngsters have been donning their thermals for a spot of sledging.

Howe Road resident Willie Chalmers said: "It's total chaos down here. They've got a machine on the footpath for a starter but they're too late with it. It should've been out clearing before it really set in.

"All of the strategic points, where people in cars find it difficult, they should have these bins sitting there so when they get stuck they can put grit down and have a right go at it. The roads are just unbelievable."

Willie added: "They've got to think about pedestrians now. Nobody can get out to the shops and some of the shops and banks aren't even open because the people who work there can't get in to their work. But again, that all comes back to the mess the roads are in."

Paul Carter, of High Banton, said: "The snow's over the top of my Wellie boots, it's about 18 inches. It really reminds me of the winters we used to have back in the 1970s. I've been here for 40 years and it's the heaviest fall we've had in November.

"I think it's spectacularly beautiful. It's really lovely, all of the trees are festooned with snow and it looks wonderful. It's really great seeing and hearing the kids out enjoying it as well, sledging down the hills in the fields."

Sandra Sutton, manger of the Twechar Healthy Living and Enterprise Centre, said: "It's a catastrophe down here, it's absolutely awful. The local authority have sent a JCB out, which is greatly appreciated, then the gritters are going to come back. So many people in the village can't get out to their work, cars are just abandoned everywhere. Luckily the school's managed to stay open.

"Everyone's just having to muck in and help out."