OXFORD’S roads remained hazardous for a third day as Oxfordshire County Council said it did everything it could.

Snow and ice continued to make driving difficult on the city’s main routes as city centre businesses complained of a huge drop in trade at what should be their busiest time of year.

County Hall said its fleet of 28 gritters and snow ploughs was in action around the clock as temperatures fell to -7C in Oxford on Sunday night.

The authority said it had not favoured clearing Oxfordshire’s rural roads over the city and said heavy traffic had compacted the snow in Oxford making it difficult to shift.

However, drivers complained that Oxford’s roads were still the worst in the county, with residents helping to push vehicles over bridges in Botley Road.

Ray Lindsey, manager of Haymans Fisheries in the Covered Market said trade was down 95 per cent on the same weekend last year.

He said: “It has had a devastating effect on us at our busiest time of the year.

“Fingers need to be pointed at the highways authority for allowing the roads to get into that state.

“Questions need to be answered because this is not fair on businesses, especially small independent firms like ours.”

High Street Business Association spokesman Graham Jones said: “There is concern that the arterial routes were not clearer by now.”

Shopper Steve Blair’s Honda Civic got stuck in deep snow in the county council-run Seacourt park-and-ride so he decided to park at Carpet Right and walk into Oxford.

The 53-year-old, from Nobl-e’s Close in Grove, said: “This road is disgraceful. We came here on the A338 and it’s much better than the Botley Road.

“We don’t like shopping here anyway, we would rather shop in Reading and the state of the road makes it a thousand times worse.”

The manager of a large outlet in the Botley Road retail park, who declined to be named, said he had paid £60 for a hotel room in Oxford last night because he could not depend on roads being clear.

He said: “I have driven through Gloucestershire and Wiltshire and the roads are completely clear.

“As soon as you cross into Oxfordshire straight away you notice piles of snow in the middle of the road and the closer you get into Oxford the worse it gets.”

County council spokesman Paul Smith said: “Falling snow compacted under the very heavy traffic on some routes in Oxford on the notoriously busy last shopping Saturday before Christmas.

“This subsequently froze in exceptionally low temperatures and has proved very difficult to shift. Main roads have been passable with care at all times, including the Botley Road.”

cwalker@oxfordmail.co.uk