POLICE have warned youngsters are dicing with death after one child fell through a frozen lake near Lydney.

The warning to stay off the ice comes while the Dean is snowbound and gripped in sub-zero temperatures – which have brought chaos to the roads.

Officers have been making daily trips to small lakes off Lydney's Harbour Road to warn children not to play on the ice.

Forest police chief Supt Phil Haynes said parents needed to be aware of what their children were up to.

"They are literally dicing with death being out on the ice," he said.

"Unfortunately they are just not listening and each time officers go out there are new groups out on the ice who do not realise the danger they are in.

"One child fell through but thankfully they were not far out when it happened.

"It has got to the point where the council may have to go down there and break up the ice."

After several days of sub-zero conditions a prolonged snowfall on Monday created a slalom situation for motorists when they tried to get home during the afternoon.

Gritters and snow ploughs worked through the night to clear the main routes, but smaller roads through the Forest's villages remained treacherous on Tuesday.

A car and the 73 bus Lydney-Gloucester bus collided on Tuesday afternoon at Chaxhill.

Firefighters from Cinderford were called out to the A48 and although no injuries were reported, traffic along the A48 came to a standstill.

On Sunday two vehicles were involved in a collision on the A48 from Lydney South towards Woolaston by Stroat at around 4.20am.

In the Forest's shops, panic buying ramped up with shoppers trying to stock up for essentials as well as doing their Christmas shopping.

Store manager John Fletcher said that the Harry Tuffins supermarket in Coleford was "heaving".

"All staff have come in and there have been no late deliveries," he said. "There's certainly panic buying going on and some stock is getting depleted, alcohol most notably."

The bad road conditions held up deliveries of chilled goods to Cinderford's main Co-op store for two days. Supplies of bread and salt were in short supply.

The district council offices in Coleford closed at 3.30pm on Monday and ran with a skeleton staff the following day.

However the council's street wardens Nick Brain and John Cooke were out and about helped people who were stuck on the hill going up Sunnybank in Coleford on Monday.

The duo endured freezing conditions to grit the road to create a turning point for cars that couldn't get any further up the hill.

Nick also gave an elderly couple a lift home after they got stuck on Staunton Road, near Coleford after helping to push their car off the road.

Most bin collections in the Forest were completed on Monday before the snow fell heavily.

Another collection will take place next Wednesday for those whose refuse was not collected due to the snow, and recycling should be left out for the next scheduled collections on January 3.