A woman who had to fork out £5,800 on an operation for her dog blames a council for not clearing the grass properly.

Michele Wingfield, 60, is demanding Kent County Council reimburses her after pooch Masie had to be taken to the vets when she couldn’t stop sneezing.

A scan found the nine-year-old Westie had grass seeds inside her nose which required an expensive fix.

First, an operation costing £5,000 to remove the seeds from the dog’s nose, and then £800 two weeks later when more seeds were found in Masie’s paw.

Michele, a carer from Hartley, claims workers didn’t cut the grass or clear mounds properly.

“Masie started sneezing on our walk and it just got worse and worse,” she fumed.

“We had tried to avoid the cut grass but there were cars in the road and it was all over the pavement. Wildlife like foxes can’t avoid the cut grass - and no one’s going to pay for the vet for them.

“The council cuts the grass five times a year. They could do it before the seed heads form but they don’t, and they could clear up.

“Leaving grass with seed darts on lying around just makes the hazard greater by generating more grass. I think it’s negligent.”

Michele and her daughter Callie Wingfield, 38, took Masie to the vets on July 16 after taking the pooch for a walk the day before.

Vets said Masie - who is Callie’s support dog - needed surgery and she was taken to the Ralph, a specialist centre in Marlow, Bucks, on July 19 and 20.

And she then needed a further op on her paw, after Michelle spotted her nibbling away.

Michele explained: “Masie was sneezing so much she couldn’t sleep. It was awful watching her - she was extremely distressed and we were terrified.

“We just want to raise awareness because grass seed is really dangerous and we didn’t know about it before this happened.

“Once it gets in it can move through the body and even get into the brain, and toxins can get into the blood. That would have happened to Masie if we hadn’t had it removed.

“Our vets are amazing but treatment is so expensive. We’re petrified about taking the dogs out now because we can’t afford the risk of something like this happening again.”

Michele and Callie have submitted a claim for £6,000 to Kent County Council.

A council spokesperson said: “We have received a claim for compensation by a member of the public and are investigating this.

“Details of how we maintain grass on highway land is published on our website.”