RESIDENTS of a Poole suburb are celebrating after a successful campaign to get the council to cut the grass.

People living in Merley blamed cost cutting at the Borough of Poole after a four-acre area of green space near Sopwith Crescent was left to grow throughout the summer.

But after locals put pressure on councillors, contractors were sent out to shear the waist-high grass.

Rita Webb, whose home looks out on to the land, said she was delighted with the result.

“I’m absolutely thrilled that they’ve come to sort this whole mess out,” she said.

“We’ve got three tractors out to sort it. It’s fantastic. People living here are so happy – if you look out of the door, you can see the neighbours giving each other the thumbs up.”

Mrs Webb, who has lived in Merley for 34 years, created and laminated posters to inform locals of the problem last month, as well as organising a petition to ask the council to mow the grass.

She said both litter and dog-fouling had become a problem as the grass grew.

“It just looked absolutely abysmal when it was left uncut,” she said.

“It’s created problems too, particularly with the amount of pollen there was.

“This isn’t a rural idyll – it’s an estate. There is plenty of countryside around here for wild animals and insects.

“This is a recreational space for locals that people couldn’t use because it was so overgrown.”

‘Success in urban diversity’

KATE Langdown, Street Scene Services manager, Borough of Poole, said: “We are mowing the areas participating in the grass meadow trial from mid July through to October, when the main growing season comes to an end.

“Sites in Merley and Canford Heath will be some of the first areas to be cut.

“Our early assessments show that the trial has been successful in providing food and shelter for many insects and other animals, adding to the diversity of wildlife in the town.

“We have received both positive and negative comments from residents about the trial. This feedback will be taken into account when we come to make a decision regarding the future of the trial later this year.”