Local businessman Lewis Maclean, who runs Macleans Highland Bakery, said that the estate was a mess, but that conditions were pretty much the same everywhere.

"From what I understand, the industrial estate falls into three zones," he said. "Only one is adopted, but nothing appears to have been done anywhere. I have seen the snow plough, but it had its shovel up. I'm not sure why. Perhaps things are so bad that it wouldn't make any difference."

Mr Maclean also praised his staff for showing dedication in getting into work. He said that there had been one or two employees who were well and truly stuck, but that people were going all out in a bid to get on with things.

"I think we are just resigned to it now," he said, "and there doesn't seem to be any sign of it improving."

"We have five delivery vans, and they have been getting out OK," he added. "They have to go more slowly and be careful, but the main roads are not too bad. The only places where they get stuck are the car parks, or where they can't stop on the main road. One got stuck in Elgin Academy, and if I had £1 for every time I have been stuck in the car park behind Forres Town Hall, I would be a millionaire."

Mr Maclean added that the roads off of Forres High Street were disastrous. He said that he had seen the pavement clearer more than once, but it never seemed to get further than the High Street.

Meanwhile, staff working at various other premises around the Greshop estate who have been struggling to get into work, have spoken out about the condition of the roads, which has caused the undersides of vehicles to ground on ruts and hard-packed ice.

A spokeswoman for Highland Country Foods said that they were coping, but that some staff living outwith Forres had struggled to get to work due to the condition of their roads.

"Some people, such as those who come from the Fochabers area, have struggled," she said. "Our car park has been bad too, and cars and lorries have had a job getting in."

She said that the company which has premises next door had lent a hand. Organic vegetable growers TIO Limited had sent in a tractor in an effort to clear the area so that lorries could get access, but it was still in a bad condition.

A spokesperson for TIO confirmed that the roads around the Greshop remained untreated. "They never come and clear the roads," she said. "They haven't even cleared the road for people going into the LIDL supermarket. Their car park and the road into it are really icy, and people struggle to get up the brae."

Lee McGrath from the ReBoot computer recycling project, across the road from TIO, said that they were coping and no more.

"All our guys are getting in, but the roads are getting worse," he said. "The main users are tractors, so the ruts in the road are going to start affecting the undersides of customers' and employees' cars soon."

Sandra Booth, who works at Varis Engineering, said the situation was getting worse by the minute.

"The ice is so hard-packed that drivers follow one set of tracks," she said. "They are so deep now that you worry about the underside of your car."

She said that the council's estates department had told her that grit was in short supply, and grit boxes would not be refilled.

"I did remind them that it would have been good if they had been filled before the event," she said. "Lorries from the food park have been jack-knifing and blocking the road, making it completely impassable sometimes."

Ms Booth, who lives near Croft Road, said she had given up driving altogether as conditions were almost impossible.

"Unless you get a clear - and often dangerous - run up to the junction and don't have to stop, you can guarantee you will be stuck," she said.

"If the council had ploughed the snow from the roads in the first place rather than repeatedly gritting, when it was obvious that the snow would soon cover it up, I'm sure we would not be in such a mess now."

t.mclaren@forres-gazette.co.uk

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