Calls for a road to be gritted before a fatal crash happens have been shunned by the council.

Nicola Shaw, who lives on Fisherman’s Way, Bourne End, said she has witnessed a number of crashes outside her home in the winter months.

The road is just minutes from a secondary school, Bourne End Academy.

The latest happened on Wednesday morning, when a crash involving at least three cars which required the ambulance, police and fire services.  

Ms Shaw also claimed that an ambulance that had raced to the scene to treat an injured woman also “skidded” on black ice and damaged another car.  

She said: “This is an ongoing problem that really needs to be addressed. This morning an accident was caused by black ice, but this is a series of accidents, not just one.

“This accident involved a young family. Two weeks ago, my neighbour’s car was written off because of a crash. A school bus skidded on the ice. Even after all this, the council still refuses to grit the road.”

Fire crews assisted Thames Valley Police officers by using grit from Bourne End Academy to spread across the road in a bid to prevent any further crashes.  

Ms Shaw fears that if no action is taken to address the problem, someone could die on the road.

She said: “Sooner or later, this will be a fatality. We need the road gritted at the very least, or speed bumps, especially as we are so near to a school.”  

Despite facing repeated calls to spread salt on Fisherman’s Way from worried residents, a Transport for Bucks spokesman said it would be “unrealistic” for them to treat any more roads than they already do.

She said: “Our primary gritting network is reviewed during the summer months which allows us time if required to re-design gritting routes. The Primary Network is made up of A and B roads as well as a number of main links to communities.

“We treat over 44 per cent of the network, and treating any more than this is unrealistic due to resources and environmental factors.

“Roads are susceptible to ice in the winter, this is a factor we cannot control. We provide grit bins across the county for treating residential and smaller roads, and always remind road users to drive to the conditions of the road, never assuming it has been treated.”