IT might look pretty lying untrodden in gardens and country lanes.

But grey sludge is not quite so picturesque and a thick, Dickensian stream of it lay along Bridlesmith Gate, trailing all the way up Clumber Street to the Victoria Centre.

"I've never known anything like it," said Katie Leyland, trainee manager at Hobbs, who walked into work from Sneinton because the buses were not running regularly.

"I've lived in Nottingham all my life. I've seen it snow but I've never seen Bridlesmith Gate like this, with all this sludge.

"I've no idea who's going to come shopping on a day like this."

Hobbs was open, with two members of staff, but another two, from Bingham and Top Valley, could not get in.

Some Bridlesmith Gate shops were closed this morning, although most were open.

Despite the credit crunch the street, home of Nottingham's high-end stores, is normally bustling. Today, just a fraction of the normal crowd were sliding, grim-faced, through the snow.

"It was like a ghost town when I came in," said Katie Steels, 25, of Bulwell, assistant manager at Argento silverware store.

"We had to open an hour late this morning – it took me two hours to get in.

"But, to be honest, I don't think we'll have missed any trade."

"It's the Dunkirk spirit!" joked Geoff Williams, co-owner of The Tokenhouse, whose power has gone off twice in the past week, forcing his shop and several of his neighbours, to close early.

The Victoria Centre was far from its jam-packed normality.

Ann Harvey, Millie's Cookies and Swarovski were all closed this morning.

Emma Bingley, 23, deputy manager at Bay Trading Company, said: "Because of the credit crunch it's quiet anyway, but this is beyond belief. We've only done four sales this morning – we'd normally have done three times that amount."