A MOTHER-TO-BE of twins is praying for no more snow after she was left stranded in her Lyme Regis home.

Sandra Smart was originally due to give birth on Monday to twin boys following successful IVF treatment.

Her pregnancy is already classed as high risk but her stress levels have been escalated by snow and ice cutting her off at her home in Queens Walk.

She now plans to be induced tomorrow and plans are in hand to get her to hospital in plenty of time.

Residents in her street and other hilly areas of Lyme are furious that they were left stranded for days on end because of the lack of gritting.

Dorset County Council’s gritting lorries treat only the main roads through the town and grit supplied in bins by Lyme Regis Town Council was in short supply.

Mrs Smart, 40, said: “We’ve been panicking, thinking how the hell do we get down the hill if I go into labour. They say an ambulance or air ambulance can go to the bottom of the hill, but how do you get down there?

“I know there’s a midwife based in Lyme but I’m classed as high risk. It’s an IVF pregnancy anyway so it’s been very long awaited for, and it’s twins. My stress levels have been quite high because of this.

“I’m praying that we don’t get any more snow – I’ve been obsessed with checking the weather. It’s just a frightening thing.”

Mrs Smart’s husband Roger and neighbours Gavin Fowler, Graham White, and Mike Higgs have been battling every night to keep the road clear in case she goes into labour.

“We’ve tried to put grit out to clear the snow but we’ve only got one bin in the area and all the grit went,” said Mrs Smart.

“They are making sure our areas are as clear as they can be. They’ve also been going around doing other parts of Lyme.”

Mrs Smart’s neighbour Jo Fowler, a nurse at Bridport Hospital, called the councils to ask for more grit.

Mrs Fowler said: “I rung them because I couldn’t get to work and also emphasised there were pregnant ladies who live up the hill. If they went into labour, there was no chance of them getting down the hill. The council just passed it off and said to call 999.”

Mrs Smart is calling for better organisation from the town and county councils. “I know they’re supplying the boxes but they’re not being filled up so what’s the point?”

“I think we need bigger grit bins, especially around this residential area. But maybe in this financial climate it isn’t going to happen so we need more community spirit.”