A mother-of-two is campaigning for gritting crews to prioritise a “treacherous” icy road used by dozens of schoolchildren.

With the backing of fellow parents Nicola Roberts is launching a petition to lobby Barnet Borough Council to grit Moss Hall Grove during icy spells.

Ms Roberts, who lives in a neighbouring street, says the freezing temperatures and snowy conditions over the past few days have left the road a danger to motorists as well as pedestrians.

She said: “On Friday I was walking with my daughter when a car slipped on the ice and mounted the curb. Two other cars then smashed into the back of it – this was simply because the council hadn’t gritted the road.

“It’s dangerous just walking my children to school and all the other parents I’ve spoken to feel exactly the same.

“It’s disgusting the council hasn’t gritted the road which is used by so many schoolchildren. If a car goes out of control and hits a child will it be a priority then?”

There are four schools and nurseries near to Moss Hall Grove including Moss Hall Infants and Moss Hall Juniors.

The council says gritting crews completed 77 runs using a total of 381 tonnes of salt over the weekend.  Town centres and transport hubs were gritted on Saturday and on Sunday four gritting runs were done on “priority” routes.

But a driver in New Barnet has also insisted the council grit roads more frequently after his car skidded onto a pavement in Netherlands Road, New Barnet, at 6.15am yesterday.

Darren Conway said: “I was driving no more than 20mph. I stepped on the break just a little and lost control completely. I mounted the pavement and smacked into a post – luckily no one was standing there.

“The roads were terrible, like they hadn’t been gritted at all. It was just ice as well as a bit of snow.”

Following Met Office warnings of snow and icy conditions in Barnet today, gritting crews will be in the streets from 6pm this evening.