FOUR days after the snow on Friday, the pavements and many of the minor roads in Poppleton are in a disgraceful condition.

It is shameful to see elderly residents trying to make their way to the shops or to the doctors’ surgery when the pavements remain untreated.

Our council will no doubt claim that it does not have the resources to tackle the snow and yet they seem to have unlimited resources to send out newsletters, questionnaires etcetera – all intended (and failing miserably) to demonstrate to me that they do a fantastic job.

If the council genuinely cannot get its priorities right, would it not be reasonable to “ask” those receiving state benefits for doing nothing to earn those benefits just once in a while?

Phil Hodgetts, Long Ridge Lane, Upper Poppleton, York.

• I CAN’T be alone in noticing the sheer lack of work done in York to make the roads, streets and footpaths safe for the residents.

It’s a disgrace that the council appears to not have done anything; why, let’s wait for the excuses. “It caught us by surprise”, “we were not ready for this amount of bad weather”; maybe looking at weather forecast would have told them this.

Just what has City of York Council been doing while the city freezes and people suffer slips and falls? Why has there been a lack of gritting? Have the council just made too many cutbacks to ensure the safety of its visitors and residents of York?

Gary Mitchell, The Groves, York.

• WE GET a wee bit of snow, some ice and freezing temperatures and many of York’s minor roads footpaths are left in a very dangerous state. Presumably the City of York Council budget will not run or be directed towards treating these roads and footpaths, but they can “find” the money to advertise for some “liaison officers” at salaries of between £30,000 and £35,000. Surely in these times, they are non jobs and not essential?

Yet again, Government spending has all the wrong priorities.

David Quarrie, Lynden Way, Holgate, York.

A City of York Council spokeswoman said: “The council has a winter maintenance policy which is available at york.gov.uk In York, we treat a higher percentage of the road network than the majority of other local authorities. However, it is not financially or logistically possible to clear all routes.

“The highway maintenance team has worked exceptionally hard during this period of bad weather. All major routes and all footpaths on the gritting network have been kept clear, with gritting being carried out round the clock. Additional work is now being undertaken as resources will allow.

“A total of 1,000 tonnes of salt have been used in four days and the gritting crews have been working continually since that time. We would ask that residents take appropriate precautions when driving, walking or cycling in wintry conditions.”