As the cold weather continued this morning one street found itself surrounded by what residents described as an "ice rink".

Jill Valdar, of Myrtle Road, Hampton Hill, said the roads outside her house were covered in so much snow and ice it was hard for some neighbours to get out of their homes.

Miss Valdar added that in the 17 years she had lived in her current home the council had not gritted her street once.

Miss Valdar said: "It may not be a main road but there are lots of people living here [yet] they have never been down this road in 17 years.

"It is appalling the state of our pavements and roads."

But Councillor Clare Head, Richmond Council's cabinet member for traffic said that while the council try to grit as many roads as they can it would not be possible to cover all streets in the borough.

She said: “Like all councils we have to prioritise our gritting on the busiest roads, such as Hampton Hill High Street.

“Last week we gritted the main roads at least 12 times overnight and carried out numerous daytime runs; there are more than 2,100 streets in the borough and it’s just not possible with the resources we have to cover each and every one."