Ref. 74422-45ELDERLY residents in Blunsdon say mess caused by an unfinished play area in their street is a safety hazard.

Cliff Hopper, 66, who has arthritis in his spine and sciatica in his right leg, says he has already slipped on mud in Linley Road and worsened his condition.

He said: "I have to have physiotherapy but I haven't been able to do my exercises since I slipped on the mud and hurt my back because it's so sore."

Mr Hopper says the locals objected to the site from the beginning but Blunsdon Parish Council, which carried out the work, ignored a petition he organised.

He said: "All the residents were unanimously against it but the council didn't listen.

"It was a rush job. They wanted to get it finished for Christmas because they said they would and now they have left it without finishing it properly.

"They didn't listen to us when we told them it was the wrong place and now there's mud everywhere. The place is a quagmire. No self respecting parent would let their child play in it."

Mr Hopper claims that with Linley Road being an elderly residential area it is only a matter of time before someone else has an accident.

Another Linley Road resident, Alf Garside, said: "I appreciate that children need a place to play but there was absolutely no consideration for the elderly that live here.

"The mud is not only slippy, it's a mess. The whole thing is so unfair. The parish council never considered us. They just went ahead and did it."

Now the residents have been left wondering what they can do to improve matters.

Mr Hopper said: "It's all elderly people here so you would think this would be the last place they would build a play area. We're just banging our heads against a brick wall. There's even been talk of putting all the mud in buckets and dumping them outside the councillor's houses. They need to get something done."

Chairman of Blunsdon Parish Council, Stuart Boyd, said: "We had to build a new play area because the old one was unsafe.

"The parish council doesn't own much land but we considered all the possible options and consulted the police, the borough council and various constructors of play equipment.

"We decided that was the only suitable place for it to go and we had a lot of support from parents.

"Obviously at this time of year you cannot get grass seed to grow so the area is admittedly churned up.

"But as soon as it's possible it will be levelled and seeded and we will put additional paths in as well."

Gareth Bethell