Council workers let grass in Sandhurst become overgrown—then left it in a “disgusting” mess when they finally cut it, a hairdresser has claimed.

Angela, who didn’t want to use her surname, complained to the Local Democracy Reporting Service that council workers had left grass verges unfinished and untidy, and pathways covered in clippings.

She said: “It’s not cut very regularly at all. Then the mess they leave is disgusting. I’m a hairdresser and if I left someone’s hair like they cut the grass, I’d be sacked.

“The guy sits on the lawnmower, but he doesn’t get off and finish it off. He does the bits he can get to on the lawnmower, but when it comes to the edges around the lampposts, it’s all left long.”

She added: “I have a couple of clients who feel the same way. They go out and finish off cutting the grass themselves. They say they’re just clearing up the mess that the council made.”

Angela said she complained to the council about the state of the grass on April 25—but heard nothing back.

She added that it took two more weeks for someone to come and finish off the job with a strimmer, on May 10. And when they were done, they left grass cuttings strewn across the path.

READ MORE: This is why grass in Bracknell is being left uncut

In a statement to the Local Democracy Reporting Service, Bracknell Forest Council assistant director of contract services Damian James said wet weather had delayed lawn mowing work, but that all the grass had now been cut in Sandhurst.

He said: “Persistent wet weather in March and April has impacted on the start of this year’s mowing season. Many grass verges have been too wet to take the weight of the ride on mowers.

“However, we have now completed two full circuits of the main mowing cycle across the borough, including Sandhurst, and we are starting the third cutting cycle. The majority of verges in Sandhurst were cut on April 24 and 25, although some areas proved difficult to cut due to parked cars restricting the mowers.

“Further strimming work will be undertaken this week, with the mowers returning next week, followed again by the strimmers.”

The assistant director did add that some areas of grass in Bracknell are left uncut to benefit plants and wildlife. “Some areas of grass verges and greenspaces across the borough are deliberately left uncut to encourage the natural biodiversity to develop and also to protect the trees in those areas,” he said.

“It is not unusual to notice areas which may appear unkempt which have in fact been purposely left to flourish. Many of these areas have our bee biodiversity signs which help explain our strategy and links to the council’s climate change work.”