Gridlock in Greater Manchester as snow settles on roads

Many drivers left their cars and walked the hilly routes

Travellers experienced transport disruption in parts of Greater Manchester as snow and ice settled on main roads overnight.

In Bury, routes around Holcombe Brook, Ramsbottom and Tottington were gridlocked due to the road conditions.

The amount of snow on roads prompted complaints by drivers over gritting by Bury Council.

The council said it had gritted at 2100 GMT on Thursday and has sent gritters back out on Friday morning.

Some motorists had been in their cars for more than two hours, and moved only about half a mile (0.8km) in Ramsbottom.

'Cold' for grit

One told the BBC: "The roads are just awful. I cannot see any way that they have been gritted.

"Drivers are sliding everywhere. I can't imagine why it is so bad when weather warnings were in place and the council had enough time to grit."

Many abandoned their vehicles and walked on the hilly routes, including Bury New Road towards the M66 motorway.

Bury Council said the grit may not have been as effective because of the cold temperatures.

A Bury Council spokesman said: "Snow continued to fall fitfully during the night, so we sent out the gritters again in the early hours to cover the north of the borough, as the south did not seem badly affected.

"This morning we had all the gritters out again, and so far we have spread 108 tonnes of salt. Street cleaning teams have also taken out grit and are spreading it in the town centres and in busy areas such as shopping centres."

Millwood Special School has closed because of the bad weather.