And gritting bosses insisted: "We did all we could."

Gritting wagons had been out in force on main roads in the city - but heavy sleet at 8am on Wednesday left many roads like a "skating rink".

It caused havoc for thousands of motorists, with routes gridlocked and part of the A59 shut.

And Preston woke up again on Thursday to fresh snowfall.

Police - who described the city's roads as "lethal" - even had to be drafted in to give escorts to gritters because salt wagons could not get through the log-jammed roads.

And motorists have been warned to expect more of the same, with the Met Office issuing a fresh 'Orange Alert' weather warning for Lancashire.

On a day of chaos...

* Pedestrians were prevented by police from crossing Ring Way because cars struggled to get going again if they stopped

* Mall St George's car park had to be closed for almost an hour while ice was cleared off Lune Street

* A59 Liverpool Road was closed at Priory Lane in Penwortham because of ice

* A lorry driver had to abandon his wagon and a bus driver called for help after his vehicle got stuck on London Road

* Huge queues near junction 31a of the M6 in Fulwood

Motorists bombarded the Lancashire Evening Post with calls about the hazardous conditions.

Normal journeys descended into chaos with one frustrated commuter saying it had taken her 90 minutes to get over Penwortham Hill.

Another motorist Loretta Hodgson, 43, took half-an-hour to get from the city centre to New Hall Lane.

She said: "It was like a skating rink.

"Cars were slipping everywhere. It was absolutely atrocious.

"Surely the council should be gritting the main roads?"

Gridlock

Mark Selley ,of Preston Hackney Carriage Association, said: "It was pretty treacherous - the main roads were sheet ice.

"There were not a lot of (taxis) out - I think some seem to have looked outside and decided not to bother."

Commuters also reported gridlock on Strand Road in Preston and treacherous conditions on Tom Benson Way in Fulwood.

A Lancashire Police spokesman said a sleet shower shortly before 8am had caused the problems by turning the roads to ice.

He said: "When the hail came down first thing, it became compacted and froze."

Lancashire County Council, which has a gritting budget of £4.3m and has 190 staff involved in gritting, said gritters had been out in Preston's main roads three times between Tuesday night and Wednesday morning, but the hail in rush-hour had hindered their efforts.

A spokesman said: "We had a hail shower followed by snow in the morning, which means we needed to grit again, but with the traffic, it was extremely difficult to get through. We had to get a police escort to get to the troublespots.

'Concerned'

"(The problems) have been a combination of the weather, traffic and the time of day.

"We have been out gritting almost constantly since the end of last week, but unfortunately grit is not the magic solution to all conditions."

The spokesman said all A and B roads had been salted and denied that supplies were short, adding more grit was the way from a Cheshire salt mine.

Refuse collectors were unable to reach about 50 homes in Penwortham due to ice on sloping streets. Some homes in Preston also had no collection.

NHS Central Lancashire has advised people not to leave the house unless they need to, after calls to the ambulance service soared by a fifth over the last few days following slips and falls on ice.

Dr Shelagh Garnett, deputy director of public health, said: "We are really concerned about the number of injuries affecting people of all ages."

The Met Office predicted Thursday would be cold and cloudy, with outbreaks of rain, sleet and snow, particularly on the hills.

Have you been affected by the snow? Tell us your stories - call (01772) 838166 or email jenny.simpson@lep.co.uk and send your pictures to picturedesk@lep.co.uk

See our special spread of pictures submitted by Lancashire Evening Post readers in the LEP's Christmas Eve edition

>> Vote in our latest web poll

Traffic and Travel: Latest news from around the region