Elderly residents stranded at home as pavements not gritted

Residents of a housing development are petitioning the council to get their streets gritted in icy conditions.

More than 40 people have backed the campaign to ensure surfaces outside the retirement homes at Ericht Court in Blairgowrie are treated.

They claim they were left stranded during a recent cold snap, which saw temperatures plummet as low as -10C.

Development manager Heather Johnstone said some residents feared becoming a burden on the NHS if they slipped and fell.

She said: “It seems ludicrous that a short stretch of pavement cannot be gritted in order to protect the residents from falling and perhaps requiring NHS treatment.”