A FRUSTRATED resident told an area forum she will cut grass herself — if Bolton Council will lend her a strimmer.

Ann Richards, of Bishops Road, Great Lever, said the grass close to her home and near the Royal Bolton Hospital has not been cut properly for months.

She is so annoyed about the state of it she declared she would do it herself if they gave her equipment.

Mrs Richards told the meeting: “It is an absolute disgrace. The area is being left as a wilderness.

“Can we borrow your equipment to cut the grass? It is not being used. I am volunteering to cut it outside my own house.”

Cllr Mike Francis, who chaired the Harper Green Area Forum on Monday night, said: “We have not got enough money to do everything we want “I have already raised the issue that it is a well used amenity.

It is popular for dog walkers and it is harder to clean up after dogs in the long grass.”

In response to her request for equipment, he said he will ask the council if it is possible.

Mrs Richards said some of the grass was cut on Monday, but only a small area.

Before that, she said, it was cut eight weeks ago, but claimed the whole area, known as The Dell, had not been properly cut since last October.

Her complaint is one of a number received by Bolton Council after it reduced its grass maintenance budget and the regularity with which workers are cutting grass.

The new schedule was prepared over the winter as part of a plan to save £1.7 million across Neighbourhood Services to contribute to the council’s wider savings of £60 million over two years.

The council will now look at what improvements can be made to the schedule, after the issue was raised in The Bolton News earlier this month.