Couple told not to keep their grass verge tidy

A Hoddesdon couple have been forbidden from picking up rotten fruit from the verge outside their home - because it interferes with Broxbourne Council's monitoring procedures.

Stan and Jean Chatterton like to keep the lawn outside their immaculate Meadway home short, tidy and free of fallen apples, as they rot and become slippery.

But the council has told them to "refrain" from their community-minded maintenance work.



Jean, 67, said: "We have been told off for keeping it tidy. It's a bit of a kick in the bum. I just don't understand it."

Perplexed Stan, 69, observed: "It's like political correctness. I have been trying to keep this lawn and path area free of dropped apples which rot, get crushed, become slippery and are a danger to pedestrians."

Asked to clarify what work the Chattertons would be allowed to do on their verge, the council refused to comment.