Derek is handed mowing reprieve

A veteran soldier who was banned from mowing overgrown lawns at Cannock Cemetery because of health and safety regulations has been handed a reprieve so he can carry on cutting.

Derek Evans, aged 67, has been cutting the grass where his mother is buried at the cemetery for more than a year - even investing in a £300 lawnmower to help keep on top of the work.

But Cannock Chase Council officials put a stop to the good Samaritan's graft, saying he must hold public liability insurance to carry on with his mowing on council land.

Now insurance firm Zurich has now offered to provide free public liability insurance for Mr Evans after holding talks with him and Cannock Chase Council.

Mr Evans, of Pye Green, near Hednesford, who served with British Forces in West Berlin during the 1960s, lives on an Army pension after his hearing was damaged on active duty.

"I don't like to boast, but on the day I won the battle," he said.