THE big freeze finally hit Waltham Forest this week, and the council has been criticised for not doing enough to tackle dangerous frozen pavements.

Pavements across the borough were not gritted yesterday morning when the first of the bitter Artic weather hit Britain.

Residents struggled to walk to their nearest shops as they slid along the dangerously icy walkways.

One Chingford man, who did not want to be named, said: "It's a nightmare out there.

"I tried to walk the short distance from my house to my car on Wednesday morning and nearly fell over several times because the pavement was so icy.

"The council knew this weather was going to hit Britain about a week ago, plenty of time for them to get their resources together to make sure that paths and roads were well gritted before the cold weather started.

"It's just causing accidents and injuries. They should pull their finger out."

The Met office is expecting temperatures to rise this weekend to an average of around 11 degrees Celsius. Any remnants of snow are expected to be washed away by scattered showers.

Council staff denied claims that they did not grit pavements in Waltham Forest but said that due to current resources, they had to prioritise the roads to maintain driver safety.

A spokesman said: "The council has been in close contact with the Met Office and planned for the predicted snow and icy conditions.

"For the past three nights, council teams have been out gritting main roads and roads with hills. In order to maintain driver safety, roads are the council's main priority, although paths in parks are being gritted too.

"Footways close to bus stops, schools and shopping areas will also be gritted if the weather becomes more severe and heavy snow falls."

THE big freeze finally hit Waltham Forest this week and the council has been criticised for not doing enough to tackle dangerous frozen pavements.

Pavements across the borough were not gritted yesterday morning when the first of the bitter Arctic weather hit Britain.

Residents struggled to walk to their nearest shops as they slid along the dangerously icy walkways.

One Chingford man, who did not want to be named, said: "It's a nightmare out there.

"I tried to walk the short distance from my house to my car on Wednesday morning and nearly fell over several times because the pavement was so icy.

"The council knew this weather was going to hit Britain about a week ago, plenty of time for it to get its resources together to make sure that paths and roads were well gritted before the cold weather started.

"It's just causing accidents and injuries. They should pull their finger out."

The Met Office is expecting temperatures to rise this weekend to an average of around 11 degrees Celsius. Any remnants of snow are expected to be washed away by scattered showers.

Council staff denied claims that they did not grit pavements in Waltham Forest but said that owing to current resources, they had to prioritise the roads to maintain driver safety.

A spokesman said: "The council has been in close contact with the Met Office and planned for the predicted snow and icy conditions.

"For the past three nights, council teams have been out gritting main roads and roads with hills. In order to maintain driver safety, roads are the council's main priority, although paths in parks are being gritted too.

"Footways close to bus stops, schools and shopping areas will also be gritted if the weather becomes more severe and heavy snow falls."