RESIDENTS of Lindale are calling for a vital salt box at an icy part of the village to be replenished.

Bill Lowry, who runs a joinery shop next to the box, in Smithy Hill, got in touch with The Westmorland Gazette’s Gritwatch to let us know about the issue.

He claimed it had not been refilled since the middle of 2010 and said he had called Cumbria County Council ‘about a dozen’ times to no avail.

“It is quite a steep brow and treacherous when it is icy,” he said. “The main one in Lindale Hill does get filled, so I have to carry it from there but it’s quite a long way.”

Fellow villager George Moreby, 79, said he had a fall on the icy footpath last December and injured his shoulder, which has affected the use of his arm.

He said: “It was very icy. I had just been up to the post office for my newspaper and was on my way back down the hill.

“The place where it happened doesn’t catch the sun so it was just ‘shot’ ice. I fell down and ruptured the tendons in my shoulder.”

The Gazette contacted CCC and a spokesman said: "The county council is looking into the matter, but has made some positive improvements across the board on how we co-ordinate with parish councils and local people on replenishing grit bins.