Residents say a row of trees are so unkempt they can't hang their washing out.

Those living in Layfield Road, Gillingham, have called on Medway Council to cut back the line of lime trees which are almost 20 metres high and back onto their gardens.

They say the trees block out their light and shed pollen which attaches to their clothes.

The residents are also concerned about an alleyway running behind the houses which they say is dark and covered up by the branches of the trees, attracting anti-social behaviour such as fly-tipping and drug dealing.

Douglas Hamandishe has lived in the road for six years and is chairman of residents' group, Gillingham Green Police and Community Together (PACT).

He submitted a petition to the council, which was signed by 15 people, asking it to carry out maintenance on the trees.

The mental health nurse says he has found syringes and human faeces in the alley while walking his dog.

He explained: "The main concern is the inconsistencies of how the green has been managed; if you look at the top end, it's managed more effectively.

"The residents key concerns are poor lighting, safety issues in terms of the trees being overgrown, and the pollen is horrendous; they can't dry their clothes so what does that mean?

"They have to use heating and we know that energy costs are through the roof now.

"They can't hang their clothes outside, so they're not even making use of the sunlight.

"It's a depressive state, everybody's depressed about it."

He added: "All the residents love the trees there, it's just that they're not being maintained."

John Reading, a retired musician, has lived in one of the homes backing onto the green for 55 years.

He is worried about the trees coming down in a storm, having witnessed some damage to trees on the green in the Great Storm of 1987.

He said: "There's no light in the garden at all, it's dark and horrible.

"It casts a gloom over us and the darkness causes depression.

"The alley is a haven for undesirable people."

Fred Lambrechts, another resident, added how he has an issue with the leaves and pollen falling into his garden, saying: "If you want to keep things nice and clean and tidy, you just cannot do it.

"We want to invest in some nice furniture outside, but we don't want to do that at the moment because of all the mess that the trees are causing.

The 43-year-old former farmer added: "No way are we asking for the trees to be removed, it's clearly just a case of maintaining it."

The petition was discussed during a meeting of the council's regeneration, culture and environment overview and scrutiny committee last week (Thursday, August 11).

Ian Gilmore, head of regulatory and environmental services at Medway Council, explained specialists had been to survey the trees and concluded a reduction in height would be "detrimental to their long-term growth" and would not affect the amount of sunlight the gardens receive.

Despite this, he explained how his department would be applying for planning permission to "deal with and lift the lower branches of the trees and clear some of the re-growth".

He added: "But it is contingent on us getting that permission, because it's not just something we can do. If feasible, we will try to accommodate their [the residents'] wishes."

Mr Hamandishe says he remains concerned following the meeting as residents haven't been given a timeline for the proposed works, nor an indication of how much the trees would be cut back.