TEMPERATURES plunged to minus 16 degrees C in parts of Dorset over Christmas.

However, there were few reports of incidents on the roads as most people decided to stay at home as the freezing weather continued.

A temperature of minus 16 was recorded at Forston, near Dorchester, by resident Gill Reese.

She said: “The temperature dropped to minus 16C overnight on Christmas Day into the early hours of Boxing Day.

“I don’t know if it is the lowest temperature in the county so far this winter.

“However, it is not a record low here as we recorded minus 17.5 two year ago.”

Gritting teams continued to operate on Christmas Day and were on stand-by yesterday to treat roads.

A spokesman for Dorset County Council said: “Our current salt stock stands at 5,300 tonnes. We are expecting deliveries in the New Year, as well as a further 2,500 tonnes at the end of January.

“To maintain our resilience, we are unable to respond to ad hoc requests for extra salting unless they are requested by the emergency services.

“Routes linking rural communities with the main salted network will only be gritted ahead of any expected snow events.”

She said motorists were still advised to take extra care and not to travel unless absolutely necessary if conditions are severe.

Meanwhile, people in Preston, Weymouth have been left housebound because no one has been gritting the pavements, a local has warned.

Retired probation worker Pat Rance, 69, of Churchward Avenue said she and her elderly neighbours have been stumbling because of the build-up of ice.

She said: “The main problem is that we have not seen a gritter up here for almost two weeks.

“A lot of people lately have been saying: ‘Right, I’ll leave the car at home and walk to the shops or wherever I need to go.’ But even that has become virtually impossible now because of the ice build-up.

“Why can’t the council put some gritting bins up here so that we could at least put some salt out for ourselves?

“I had a fall last Sunday on the ice but luckily for me the only thing that got bruised was my ego and my elbow.

“I have got elderly neighbours who have fallen and people have been going out to help them back on to their feet.

“I suspect a lot of people throughout the county are having similar problems.

“In Weymouth town centre it’s fine because all the roads are getting treated but around Preston way people are just stuck.”

Ward councillor David Mannings said: “There is a need for gritting up here but getting any vehicles up here to do the job is rather difficult.

“The worst parts of the ward are around Brunel Drive on the hill but there have not been any improvements in the situation just yet.

“Ice on the pavements up here has been a problem but let’s hope that the worst of the weather is over and it stays clear from now on.

“Having said that we will have to look into addressing this problem in the future by getting some bins put out around here.

“Unfortunately that hasn’t been done in time for this winter.”