Maintenanceofgrassandhedgesinsomeareascannedtill2021
NICOLA FINDLAY
A group of St Leonards parents have been left furious after their children uncovered the rotting carcass of a dead fox in overgrown grass.
Now they are demanding the local authority deal with the ongoing public maintenance issue highlighted by the News over the last few weeks.
Ross Brown this week told us how he had become aware of a stench coming from the long grass outside their Loch Shin homes.
And he said parents were left horrified when kids there uncovered the source of the smell by “poking at it” with a stick.
Dad Ross said: “I could smell what was like a rotting bin of rubbish outside my window.
“In the overgrown square of Loch Shin the rotting corpse of a fox is lying there. It’s full of flies, maggots and God knows what other rodents have been at it.
“It was actually the kids who discovered it – I spotted them poking it with a stick.
“They are still trying to play in the grass because there’s nowhere else for them to go.
“It’s absolutely disgusting. I have a 18-month old who has started to toddle about and this is the last thing I would want the wee one to be near.”
Grass cutting and grounds maintenance services were suspended by the local authority in March following the UK-wide coronavirus lockdown.
We told you last week how a briefing report to councillors, MSPs and MPs revealed that not all grass and hedge cutting would be carried out this year.
That means some areas could go more than NINE MONTHS without being tended to. Calls for South Lanarkshire Council (SLC) to deal with the problem as soon as possible have now been ramped-up.
Independent Councillor Jim Wardhaugh has made repeated calls for action citing vermin in the long grass as a health hazard to residents.
And Ross agrees that such infestation is a real concern.
He added: “God knows what else is in the grass.
“As some services resumed last month we where all looking forward to getting communal grass cut.
“However, other than a small circular verge cut about two weeks ago, this never happened. Why not do the whole lot?”
Head of facilities, waste and grounds services, Alistair McKinnon, said a clean-up had been carried out.
He added: “We would like to thank the EK News for bringing this to our attention and the dead animal has been removed today.
“Anyone who comes across dead wildlife should contact us on 0303 123 1020 and we will arrange for it to be removed.”
The corpse was full of flies, maggots and God knows what else had been at it...