IT might be slightly overstating the situation but at times the scenes in Bournemouth yesterday could be compared to disaster movie The Day After Tomorrow.

The snow showers of Thursday that caused chaos across the region turned to layers of ice on roads and pavements.

Coming into the town centre, with cars few and far between, pedestrians took to the roads in search for any form of grip.

Both Castlepoint and Dolphin shopping centres were closed yesterday.

In Bournemouth and Poole town centres a minority of stores were open for business, with a small number of shoppers tackling the difficult conditions.

The Square proved particularly problematic due to the smooth paved surface.

Food delivery cyclists were still out in force as a number of residents heeded warnings and stayed at home for the day.

Problems hit banks, cafes, restaurants and retailers, with it being easier to list the stores that were open on Commercial Road as workers struggled to make it in for their shifts.

Staff at some of the shops that were able to open spent the morning clearing the ice and remaining snow from the pavement in front of their units.

One shop that was able to battle against the weather was Square News on Richmond Hill.

Iskren Asenov, who was not due to be working yesterday, covered for colleagues who were unable to make it into the town centre.

He said growing up in Bulgaria he experienced several feet of snow on several occasions, but the ice across Bournemouth yesterday morning had caused a number of problems for everyone.

“It has been so quiet this morning, we have had hardly anyone in so far,” Mr Asenov said.

“In the first five hours today I have had just 33 customers.

“Everywhere is icy. When I came in at 6.30am everywhere was ice and I was out clearing the front of the shop. It had to be done otherwise someone was going to get hurt.

“A truck was stuck in the road at the bottom of the hill first thing this morning and had to be recovered. It looked out of control and nearly crashed into the barrier.”

Some shops had notices on their doors advising customers they would be closed due to the weather.

A spokesperson for Bournemouth Borough Council said town centre, precincts and GP surgeries had footways gritted.

However, walking remained treacherous and residents said they did find it dangerous travelling around the town on foot.

Philip Biell, who was visiting Bournemouth this week from Devon, said he was forced to book an extra night in a hotel after roads heading west across Dorset were still closed.

He was in the town centre with his dog and admitted it was not easy to get around.

“It’s pretty horrendous with all the ice underfoot,” Mr Biell said.

“We have had to be very careful.”

The council said areas around schools had not been treated as they were closed, but the situation would be reviewed over the weekend.

They added that gritting of the road network remains the priority for service teams across the conurbation.