A battle with weeds and bureaucracy has forced the Mayor of Sandwich and the chairman of the district council on to the streets to tackle unsightly greenery sprouting through the pavements.
Armed with hoes and refuse sacks, Cllrs Joe Trussler and Bernard Butcher, with Town Sergeant Kevin Cook, set about the task to improve pathways before the Sandwich in Bloom event begins.
Cllr Butcher said the town has been put to the back of a "pecking order" by the district council and its contractors with Dover and Deal taking priority respectively.
"I was told they would come out with weed killer. That’s going to take about three or four weeks and we haven’t got that time," he said.
Mayor Cllr Trussler said the road sweeper has also been clearing the pavements of weeds at his request, which is not in his remit.
District council spokesman Andy Steele said the contractors have started work in Sandwich after Cllr Butcher made contact with them.
He said: "A weed spraying and removal programme was started across the whole district on June 12.
"Our waste services team were made aware of the Sandwich in Bloom competition on Monday and have diverted all available resources to removing weeds from Sandwich, with contractors working in the town from Tuesday morning."