Council bosses have again asked parents and carers to help clear snow from school car parks and playgrounds.

School have sent out flyers seeking help in the event of heavy snowfalls causing disruption this winter.

They are being asked to respond by phoning school offices to indicate their willingness to get involved.

But a similar move last winter angered some parents who slammed the authority for asking for help with a job "the council should be doing".

Labour councillor Danny Lennie said: "Under such circumstances as we had with 'the Beast from the East', I think it is reasonable to ask residents for assistance under such extreme weather conditions, but to ask parents to undertake snow clearing and gritting as the norm is not reasonable.

"The schools are council owned and as such are the responsibility of the council. It is the council's responsibility to ensure a high level of health and safety is maintained at our schools, not the parents."

And fellow Labour councillor David McBride said: "While it was commendable that parents and carers assisted clearing snow following the Beast from the East, this was an exceptional weather event and required an exceptional response from the community.

"However. this responsibility remains with the council and all playgrounds should have safely gritted paths to allow pupil, parents and staff to access our schools.

"I suspect this is pre-planning by the SNP council who are considering cutting school janitors to save money. These cuts are unsustainable and its time the SNP funded councils fairly".

The flyer sent out from schools states: "WDC have asked all schools to canvas parents / carers to find out if we can hopefully rely on your help and community goodwill this year should there be a significant snowfall.

"As you will be aware, the winter maintenance schedule agreed by the council does not include routine gritting of car parks and playgrounds but thankfully we have invaluable support from parents/carers cleaning snow from premises which allowed schools to open as normal."

The flyer asks parents to respond by phoning the school office by January 18 so that the deadline set by the council can be met.

Last year, the request outraged dozens of parents who hit out at the plea and demanded the council ensure all schools had been cleared of snow, rather than rely on parents.

One wrote: “Speechless at this. It’s their job.”

Another fumed: “Myself and my neighbours have been trying to do our best but there is only so much you can do with a snow shovel, [we] need gritters and a snow plough up.

“That’s the way I feel, battled through all sorts last year and the start of this year when the council should be doing a lot more to keep us safe – getting out of hand now.”

A spokeswoman for West Dunbartonshire Council said: "We were really grateful for the fantastic support of so many parents and carers who came forward and volunteered to assist during last year’s unprecedented weather.

"Council teams cleared and gritted hundreds of kilometres of roads and pavements, and also cleared snow from paths and entrances at key buildings including health centres, care homes, nurseries and schools, where their efforts were enhanced by parent and carer volunteers who helped to clear areas such as playgrounds.

"Head teachers have simply asked their parent councils if they would be keen to assist should the area face similar extreme snow fall in future."