A weekend of treacherous ice on local streets

But scores of residents are still counting the cost of a big freeze which is said to have trapped many in their homes and put others at risk.

One man posted a picture of himself showing what appeared to be a nasty gash to his head after falling in a lane also used by local schoolchildren.

A Falkirk Herald reader said her husband had spent time gritting the pavement but complained the grit was “mostly sand”.

Others reported near escapes on pavements “thick with ice” as the council teams battled to take gritting beyond priority main roads and into side streets.

Another woman said: “My mum, 83, fell in Callendar Park estate - which houses more pensioners per foot then other parts of Falkirk - because the paths in the area haven’t been gritted.

And a local mum complained: “On collecting my niece from school two days this week we struggled to get home without falling - how can you say you made sure that school routes were cleared? Clearly they weren’t!”

“I bet all around the MSP and councillors’ homes have been done”.

Local authorities across the country have come under similar fire for a claimed failure to take adequate steps against the latest cold snap, but Falkirk Council has stressed it is using all resources to meet the challenge.

It has a clear set of priorities which centre on keeping main routes clear, on the premise that if these are blocked for any length of time more intractable problems - affecting everyone - inevitably develop.

The good news may be that from today the Met Office is forecasting a temperature surge which could give road teams across the country to clear the backlog - although heavy rain and cold winds are also on the cards.