SLIDING about on the ice may sound like fun but it’s made for a hazardous walk to school for some primary pupils.

Ipswich Star: Pedestrians try to avoid slipping over on the Derby Road bridge.Pedestrians try to avoid slipping over on the Derby Road bridge. (Image: Archant)

Parents taking their children across Derby Road bridge to reach Rose Hill Primary have been forced to venture on to the road to avoid slipping on the treacherous path.

Ipswich Star: The slippery slope of Derby Road bridge.The slippery slope of Derby Road bridge. (Image: Archant)

School secretary Hannah Garnham said: “The children had to walk in the road. It was absolutely horrendous, it was so dangerous.

“I rang the highways department myself and they said they’d logged it and someone would be along to sort it.

“We’ve got 300 children coming in and because the ice gets trampled on and compacted, it’s just treacherous at the moment.”

Lisa Robb, 25, and her husband Sean, 27, of Celestion Drive, also reported the problem to the county council after their daughter Chloe, six, slipped on the icy path.

Mrs Robb has three children at the school and said the problem has been going on for days.

“It’s ridiculous,” she said. “My little girl fell on it on Wednesday and she’s got a black eye now.

“It’s quite scary, because you’ve got buses coming over that bridge. It’s like this every year.”

A spokeswoman for Suffolk County Council said: “Once there are resources available following treatment of the roads, the county’s highways teams will grit pavements on a priority basis. If residents know of a footpath which is in particular need of treatment they can raise this as a priority with Ipswich Borough Council, who carry out the footpath gritting in Ipswich.”