BLUNDERING COUNCIL GARDENER MOWED OAP’S LAWN BY MISTAKE
Pensioner pays for specialist garden service
A PENSIONER’S beloved front lawn was ‘mushed up’ – after a council gardener mowed it by mistake.
The 77-year-old pays specialist lawn treatment service Greenthumb to maintain the grass outside her Heathside Lane home, in Goldenhill.
But she was horrified when she looked out of her window this week to see a council worker on a sit-on mower on her lawn.
Now Stoke-on-trent City Council has offered to re-seed it after the gardener completed a circuit of her lawn. Son Anthony Harley-jones has shared pictures of the horseshoeshaped mark left on the otherwise pristine grass.
The 39-year-old Tesco delivery driver said: “My mum lives on the end terrace of a block of five and has owned the property for more than 17 years. We have never had an issue before as the garden workers always knew not to cut our lawn.
“She pays Greenthumb to keep the grass healthy, weed free and a lovely green. It has taken quite a few years to finally get it weed-free and fairly even.
“But then on Tuesday morning as they were cutting her neighbours’ lawns, a guy on the sit-on mower drives past our window as he starts to cut our lawn.
“By the time we got to the door and asked him to stop it was too late.
“We were left with mushed-up grass, dents and horrible patches in various places. He did apologise – but it was too late. We know the grass will grow back eventually, but that will not sort out the damage.
“It is like paying to have your car valeted and then someone gets in the next day with muddy boots and gets food everywhere. It is a waste of money.”
Councillor Carl Edwards, cabinet member for the environment, said staff had visited Mr Harley-jones and explained it was a ‘genuine mistake’.
He added: “Our grass-cutting teams are working incredibly hard across the city during these challenging times and keeping it as tidy as possible. To ensure grass-cutting work takes place and to keep the service running, employees from other areas of the council are taking on duties that are completely different from their own job roles.”
Councillor Edwards added: “He agreed to allow a team member to finish cutting his grass and the issue was rectified on Thursday morning, within 48 hours of the complaint being made. We are hugely appreciative of our employees taking on job roles they are not used to, and it is thanks to their willingness and hard work that we are able to keep delivering services across the city. We’d also like to thank residents for their patience and co-operation during this difficult period.”