ICY conditions on a busy school road have brought motoring safety issues to a head.

Staples Road, in Loughton, home to both Staples Road Junior and Infant schools, has long suffered from parking issues due to its narrow nature.

The icy conditions have served to exacerbate the issue with a number of parents reporting bumps and near-misses.

Joanne Pover, 39, of Queens Road, Loughton, said: “We don't drive but they just don't seem to grit it. It's dangerous. The cars come down here quite quickly at the best of times. The end's really bad because there's black ice there. Yesterday there was a crash with two school parents.”

Lee Lockhart, 42, of Hanson drive, Loughton, said:“I parked miles away because I can't get down here. There needs to be some sort of gritting, they don't do anything round here. It's horrendous. Maybe it's cause it's by the forest the ice stays so long.”

Jean Hunwicks, 60, of Queens Road, Loughton, said: “It's just when it ices up over night. It's a cold road any time of the year and it has been really, really icy. I think the council should have come out and salted it along here given it's a school. My daughter said there were a couple of accidents yesterday morning at the bottom of Queens Road.”

Staples Road Infant school head Anne Davison said: “It's been an ongoing problem over the years partly because the junction with York Hill, Staples Road, and Queens Road is completely iced over as soon as we get these conditions. It's on a hill and we get water draining out of the forest making it absolutely perilous “

Mrs Davison said she had contacted Essex County Council about the possibility of adding her school's road to its gritting list.

A spokeswoman for the county council said: "Any request for a road to be added to the secondary network will be reviewed by Area Highways officers."