Halesowen eyesore verge cut down to size by residents

Fed-up residents in the Black Country took matters into their own hands when they lined up their strimmers to tackle an overgrown grass verge next to their homes. People living in Abbey Crescent, Halesowen, threw caution to the wind and decided to ignore a council warning over health and safety to cut the verge they say is an "eyesore".

Dudley Council sparked outrage from residents across the borough by refusing to mow grass on steep banks in a bid to reduce costs - and then warning people not to cut it themselves due to health and safety risks.

Christine Rouse, aged 67, was there to help collect the mown grass into bags.

"It looks so much better now the grass has been cut - it really brought the street down, it was the first thing you saw," she said.

"I think it's disgusting that we have had to do this ourselves, though.

"We couldn't leave it like that, no matter what the council said. It was a real fire hazard - if a fire started it would rip through the grass in no time and damage all the cars parked around it.

"The council have told us that it wouldn't be their responsibility because we chose to park them there, but there's nowhere else to go."

Among the workmen was professional grass cutter John Partridge, 46, of Fletcher Street, Lye, who volunteered his services for free after hearing of the residents' battle through his sister, Councillor Gaye Partridge.

"It's a proper community effort, everyone coming together to help themselves," he said.

"I was happy to do it when I heard about this. It's nice to see the whole community come out for it, too."

Nicola Archer, 44, who works in the Green Care department at Sandwell Council, said: "It was so beautiful. It's such a shame we have had to try and restore that ourselves."

By Charlotte Cross