He was fed up of 'disgusting' sight so he took matters into his own hands

A dad took matters into his own hands after becoming fed up with the state of a children's park.

Adam Milde, from Chaddesden, in Derby, wielded a strimmer at Waterford Drive Park's playground after becoming infuriated with the "disgusting" state of the park.

The dad-of-two claimed the long grass posed a real safety risk, with stepping stones in the park "completely covered" and now presenting a tripping hazard. The 33-year-old tarmacker, who lives adjacent to the park, has two young children, aged two and five.

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He said they've been unable to enjoy the park in recent weeks due to its "unsafe" condition, prompting him to take action himself.

Adam borrowed a petrol-powered strimmer from a friend and dedicated three hours on Monday, June 24, to tackle the overgrowth, during the blistering heat.

He said: "At first I thought the council were doing the No Mow May thing to help with wildlife and I can understand that but, for me, to leave a park overgrown is something I find quite disgusting really, especially where kids come and play.

"The thing that prompted me to do it really was the fact I take my son and daughter their frequently and they have been getting stung by the nettles frequently, reports Derbyshire Live.

"I know that a lot of families on the estate use the park, so I just thought I'd do everyone a favour, it was just getting ridiculous. I was there for around three hours on Monday, but I'm sure that the council could do it in 10 minutes with the equipment they have.

"I really think that parks are an incredibly important asset to each town and city, it's where people grow up and make memories, all of that is out the window if no one bothers to keep them in good nick."

Adam said despite trimmings of the grass still being present in the park and on the playground, it is still a "much better" alternative to the long - and potentially unsafe - grass that was there before.

He added: "It's good for people like me to step in and sort these issues, we shouldn't have to. We pay our council tax with hopes that the areas we live in are well cared for and safe for our families to play in and this is a perfect example of that not being the case. "

A spokesperson for Derby City Council responded: "The recent wet and warm weather has led to exponential grass growth, and whilst some grassed areas may appear longer for a while, we are deploying all available resources to manage this increase and keep the many acres of grass mown across the city. Our resources are being focused on key areas, such as highway grass verges."

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