A hedge has been left "butchered" all winter and is now a danger to passers-by, a resident complains.

Kevin Maynard says people could be injured by the sharp ends of the branches.

Mr Maynard, 59, of Beaufoy Road, Dover, took photographs of the hedge on his street on December 2, February 27 and last Thursday, saying its condition had got worse.

His first letter to Dover District Council, on December 2, said: "I see the hedge at the bottom of Beaufoy Road has been well and truly butchered.

"Which contractor was responsible for this mess?

"All the green, all the other cuttings spread up the road and pushed under the bare branches, which in time with a bit of wind and rain will be all over the path.

"I hope the contractor has not been paid yet."

His follow-up message to the authority, on February 27, said that now, the hedge was 85 to 90% dead and the cuttings were still stuck inside it.

Mr Maynard, a builders merchant, explained: "The path side of hedge is a dangerous place to walk, the dead and ripped ends have now hardened off. If someone stumbles and falls in, that person could have some nasty injuries."

He asked when it would be properly cleaned or replaced.

A Dover District Council spokesman told Kent Online: "We continue to work closely with our communities to listen to concerns and to maintain the local environment.

"The hedge at Beaufoy Road has been reduced as part of our routine maintenance of the area. It is already showing signs of new buds coming through.

"It was cut mechanically on this occasion as a cost effective way to carry out hedge reduction.

"This has allowed the hedge to be reduced to a manageable size to allow it to be cut by hand next time."

The council added that it had been cut back from the edge of the path to not obstruct pedestrians but allow new growth to come through without encroaching onto the path.

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