Wildflower meadow destroyed by mower’s mistake

A WILDFLOWER meadow that was being prepared for Sir David Attenborough’s Big Butterfly Count has been accidentally mowed by a council worker.

East Devon district council apologised after one of its employees turned the valued nine-acre site in Sidmouth into a “desert”.

The worker had been asked to cut a pathway from a car park to a set of gates to allow people to walk into the town. The council decided to mow the strip of the field nearest the road to provide a clear footpath, but wanted to leave the rest of it to grow wild. Instead, the man mowed the entire area.

The meadow was blooming at the time with all kinds of flora and bristling with butterflies, birds and insects.

Ed Dolphin, treasurer of Sidmouth Arboretum who was in the meadow the previous day, said: “I was horrified because it wasn’t just the number, but the sheer variety of butterflies there – at least eight different sorts – today I saw just one, a good old cabbage white.

“It’s tidy but it’s more like a desert. Mowing it when they did and leaving the cuttings on is going to mean fewer wildflowers next time.”