ICY weather has put Barnsley on the skids - with many motorists claiming not enough grit was spread on the roads.

But Barnsley Council last night hit back saying its gritting process was the best in South Yorkshire.

The cold snap will continue over Christmas, according to forecasters, with snow on Christmas Eve and a big chill on Christmas Day before becoming more mild at the weekend.

Icy conditions will return next week.

More than 16,000 tonnes of grit were put on roads and 250 tonnes on footpaths in Barnsley last week. There were 490 grit bins - the highest per head in South Yorkshire - and these had been refilled twice, said a spokesman.

Temperatures were so low grit did not start 'working' until passing cars activated it.

A council spokesman said: "Given the -3C temperature, which can go as low as -4C or -5C due to wind chill and chilled road temperatures generally, grit will not activate until it has some traffic on it and the temperature comes up accordingly."

Many drivers contacted the Chronicle on Friday morning saying roads looked like they had not been gritted. A council spokesman said A-roads and bus routes were treated first, then secondary routes.

Further snow on Sunday caused problems. Heavy showers started at lunchtime and within about half an hour roads in the town centre were covered. Drivers started abandoning their cars near Penistone.

Many side roads, remained treacherous all week, prompting more complaints.

The conditions were blamed for a driver crashing his car into a ditch near Barnsley Golf Club. Fire crews from Royston were called to Lee Lane on Tuesday at about 11am.