Angry residents were joined by councillors, MSP Des McNulty and MP Jo Swinson in their condemnation of senior management in the freeze fiasco.

Ms Swinson said when life and limb were threatened, council officials had a duty to put emergency cover in place — but they had failed.

Councillor Charles Kennedy, a former leader of the council, and Councillor Duncan Cumming also blame senior management for failing the vulnerable and criticised emergency call response times.

Ms Swinson said: "Given the weather had caused crisis conditions, there should have been sufficient staff on to manage a strategy over the holiday period — many councils struggled to cope, but they did it. East Dunbartonshire failed. There was clearly no leadership."

Councillor Kennedy said councillors had to take some blame as they had agreed the gritting programme earlier in the year, but added: "When the worst freeze in a couple of decades was then forecast, common sense should have prevailed and the programme revised — there was no sense of urgency and vulnerable people were marooned in their own homes — other councils were caught out but ours was in a horrendous shambles."

Councillor Cumming said: "I have asked the chief executive to set up a crisis centre with immediate effect to co-ordinate additional resources in the coming weeks.

"The roads treatment at the outset was woefully inadequate and response times appalling — the skeletal cover was not up to the job.

"Had roads been properly treated during the first Christmas falls they would not have become as treacherous as they have."

Councillor Cumming was critical that management allowed refuse collections to go ahead when the resources could have been diverted to street clearing.

Doris Sofio, of Mains Estate, Bearsden, said refuse collectors had to pull the bins down the service road because the lorry was unable to turn at the hammer head, a fact she branded "another example of bad management."

MSP Des McNulty said: "It's unacceptable that the elderly and frail should be put at risk if they have to venutre outdoors.

"This has been the worst cold snap for a long time but other councils have managed to cope much better than East Dunbartonshire and questions have to be asked over who was responsible for the shambles, given how long the severe weather warnings were being forecast."

Graeme Cockburn, of Galbraith Drive, Milngavie, sent us in our page 1 photograph and said: "This is one of the roads Councillor Gibbons said last week had been treated — this picture was taken on January 3 — the last time we saw a gritter was on December 17."

Councillor Jim Gibbons warned: "'The iced over pavements in Bearsden and Milngavie are now dangerous. If the council have any grit left it has to be applied to areas where there is greatest risk and need.

"Only local people and workers can do this. Many people now feel trapped in their homes and the contact centre cannot cope despite their best efforts."

A spokesman for East Dunbartonshire Council said: "East Dunbartonshire, like the rest of Scotland, has remained struck by severe wintry conditions since mid December and temperatures have remained below freezing for most of this time.

"At the outset of the current bad weather period, and as the first major snowfall was experienced, our stockpile levels of grit and salt were at maximum capacity. On December 15 over 2500 tonnes of salt was in storage at the council's Broomhill Depot. Given the forecasts at that time orders were placed for additional supplies over and above this maximum level.

"The council has maintained a 24/7 gritting and salting operation over the festive period although this has been hampered by suppliers being unable to deliver salt and grit stocks that were previously ordered.

"Operations have been focused on keeping all high priority roads and footways gritted and salted in accordance with established policy, good practice and national guidance.

"The extended period of very low temperatures combined with successive snow showers and freezing have meant the gritting teams have had to continually treat high priority routes on a repeated and daily basis.

"This has in turn meant that lower category routes, such as residential and side streets, have not been able to be tackled. In normal circumstances, lower category routes are treated once the main routes have been completed. However, due to the repeated snow falls and the restricted salt supplies, the main routes are being re-treated rather than lower category routes tackled."

Councillor Billy Hendry, convener of the development and infrastructure committee, said: "I would like to take this opportunity to publicly thank all of the winter maintenance personnel for their significant efforts and commitment over the past few weeks in ensuring all the main priority routes throughout the area have been kept open and safe.

"We are frustrated that we cannot treat all the roads that we would like to, given the circumstances, and I'd like to also thank the public for bearing with us during this difficult time."

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