Many a slip as walkers tackle the ungritted pavements

Many commuters were wearing walking boots and carrying ski poles for fear of slipping and falling over.

It follows criticism yesterday that local authorities had been too slow to grit the roads outside bus depots, bringing the bus network to a halt.

However councils said they were doing the best they could to clear the ice but had to make the busiest routes a priority.

Gilly Cook, 35, a drama teacher from East Dulwich, had taken her children, Lola, eight, and Ellison, five, to play in the snow but was shocked to find the pavements covered in ice and her local park closed.

She said: "The kids are desperate to get outside and play in the snow. They want to make snowballs and snowmen but it's so dangerous to get anywhere.

"I've nearly slipped and broken my neck numerous times. And then when we got to the park it was closed. It's health and safety madness."

In central London people were having the same problem.

Sarah Laurenne, a 42-year-old mother from Victoria, said: "The roads and pavements directly outside Victoria station look like they have been cleared and gritted but the side streets where everybody lives are extremely icy and very slippery. You have to walk five times as slowly as normal. I haven't fallen over so far today thank goodness but I have seen other people slipping. The area outside Westminster Cathedral is like an ice rink.

"My nanny couldn't come in to work today so I have stayed off work as a secretary with the children, but they are slipping all over the place. It is a nightmare."

London Councils said boroughs were working as hard as they could and had diverted staff from other departments so the work would be done faster.

A spokesman said: "As well as putting gritters out on the roads from Sunday morning, councils deployed staff to grit footpaths in each of their boroughs. Councils focus on priority footways - those pavements that experience the most footfall - but the majority of secondary roads were also gritted.

"The high level of snowfall on Sunday night meant that snow was likely to settle despite the gritting carried out. However, throughout yesterday and today, staff have been redeployed from various services including traffic enforcement, street cleaning and refuse collection to assist with the job of clearing snow and ice from roads and pavements.

"Local authorities are working hard to help keep London moving. We would ask for residents' patience while we get on with the task in hand."

Authorities who cancelled waste collections said visits would be made later this week where possible.