CHESHIRE East Council's new winter gritting policy has come under fire with one councillor saying it doesn't take into account how dangerous roads are and just how often they are used.

Members of the council's audit and governance committee plan to examine the allocation and use of highways funding in the borough with Odd Rode councillor Patrick Redstone saying residents at Mow Cop faced a death-trap in the winter months.

"I agree that the last year's gritting wasn't as good as it should have been, but I think that my direction of travel is to increase it not cut it back," said Cllr Redstone.

"The way that roads are assessed are to the disadvantage of rural areas. All it cares about is how many people travel down a road, not how dangerous the road is in itself.

"A place very close to my heart is obviously Mow Cop, which is in my ward, and even in the summer it's not that safe. But once the water that flows on those roads so freely freezes it becomes a death-trap."

Macclesfield West and Ivy councillor Alift Harewood is highly critical of the cuts on the gritting routes, and the Cheshire East's consultation. She said roads considered dangerous were excluded from it.

"Why were they excluded? On what consideration were they excluded and why do we need now to be putting in place other arrangements to help that decision that was made," she questioned.

Cllr Harewood said: "The gritting programme is not enough, it's not adequate, it's frightening and it's not serving the residents, who have to use those roads wisely."

Audit and governance committee chair, Wistaston councillor Margaret Simon, said: "Those points were raised very eloquently, one way or another, at council too, because we are assured that there will be a review but some of us were asking that the review took place immediately.

"We understand it will be early next year."

She added the council had been considered "remarkably uncaring' over the issue.

At the last meeting of the full council in October, members of the public took councillors to task over the axing of some roads from the gritting route.

Cllr Craig Browne, chair of the highways and transport committee, has said previously the gritting policy is due to be reviewed in March.