PENSIONER John Hirst has solved the problem of waiting for the council to cut the grass near his home – by doing the job himself.
Complaints about some grass verges in the city turning into mini jungles have soared in recent weeks.
A combination of warm but wet weather and reductions in the frequency of cutting by the council following budget cuts has been blamed for the situation.
But Mr Hirst, 68, decided he was not prepared to let the grass grow under his feet near his home in Orchard Park.
Instead, he went out and bought himself an £87 lawnmower to trim a grassed area close to his house in Ainshaw on the estate.
He now keeps the grass looking neat and tidy with regular cuts every few days.
Mr Hirst said: "I know the council is strapped for cash, so I'm not blaming them for not cutting the grass as much as they did before, because I suppose they have got to make cutbacks somewhere.
"The grass was getting quite long around here, it was looking a right state in some places if I'm honest.
"So I decided I would go out to B&Q, buy a lawnmower and do it myself.
"My wife thought I was a bit mad for doing it because she couldn't see why I should be spending money on a lawnmower when it's the council's job to cut the grass but I was quite pleased because the mower was on a special offer."
The retired boilermaker, who used to work on the assembly line at Ideal Boilers, now keeps things looking trim as far as he can reach with the help of a cable extension.
He said: "I'm not one for complaining about things.
"All I'm doing is trying to make the area around our houses look decent.
"My view is that if you want something doing, you might as well do it yourself, if you can."
Although a keen gardener, Mr Hirst's garden does not even have any grass to cut.
He said: "Over the years, I've turned ours into a Mediterranean-style garden so it doesn't have a lawn. Because of that, I didn't have a mower of my own to do the job."
Mr Hirst has lived on Orchard Park for 40 years and remembers the days when the estate's large grassed areas received more regular attention from the council's grounds maintenance department.
"They used to cut it every week during the summer, always on a Friday."
