A pensioner has urged Havering Council to take action on a "muddy" grass verge near his home in Harold Hill.
Reginald Hickman has lived in Fairford Close for fifty years and claimed an issue with the verge started more than a year ago when the council replaced a lamppost on the opposite green.
Since then, Reginald said he was almost hit by a car travelling “at least 20mph” over the verge, and claimed similar incidents caused the grass to become muddy.
Reginald alleged his own car has been hit twice and added: “People slip over on the amount of mud on the pathway, it’s a state."
Havering Council’s spokesperson confirmed it has visited Fairford Close to see “first-hand” what they can do to “improve the situation for residents”.
In a bid to prevent cars driving on the road verge, residents have taken to parking a wheel on it but this has resulted in parking tickets being issued, Reginald claimed.
The 81-year-old said: “If you see how we’re living it’s terrible.
“I can’t use my own driveway as I can’t take all of the mud up across the pavement onto my drive – people would fall over as it goes down at an angle and I would slip too.”
Frustrated at the “out of hand situation”, Reginald said he recently spent three hours with his neighbours cleaning the road with his jet wash and shovelling the dirt back onto the verge.
The council’s spokesperson said in the short term they will be sending teams to clean and clear the close whenever they can.
Reginald is calling on the council to “clean up the close properly” and let residents park their wheels on the kerb to protect the environment.
He thinks the green needs to be cut back by three feet, so cars can be parked the other side.
Havering Council's spokesperson added: “We’re currently looking at a number of options which could include redesigning the area as well as increasing enforcement to tackle illegal parking.
“We’ll also be looking for ways to stop people from driving on the grass verge.”
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