PAVEMENTS across Barrow, Dalton and Walney have been described as an "absolute disgrace" after government cuts led to weed-spraying services being scrapped.

Residents have described pavements across the borough as being "disgraceful" with huge weeds and uncut grass leaving the town looking more like a scene from Jumanji .

A series of photographs sent in by one disgusted resident, Ian Singleton, shows overgrown weeds littered along a number of streets on Walney including Empress Drive.

Mr Singleton said: "I have recently posted on Facebook the state of Empress Drive with weeds growing up to 3ft tall and had a huge reaction from Facebook followers stating it is the same all over town.

"What are we paying our council tax for? It is an absolute disgrace."

More residents have since come forward to highlight hotspots in the town, with some saying Barrow "looks abandoned". One house in Greengate Street has tall weeds effectively blocking the front entrance.

Wayne Cosh from Barrow Island said his community was full of "high weeds and grass" and added that it was "a total disgrace".

Meanwhile, some have highlighted the need for people to take pride in where they live and contribute to clean-up efforts.

Pete Garbacz said: "The thing is if we all took a little responsibility, whilst we shouldn't have to, it would make Barrow a nicer place."

Since April, Barrow Borough Council no longer sprays weeds, leaving the task to fall to Cumbria County Council even though it is not considered as a statutory obligation.

The county council's highways team has now embarked on a war with the worrisome weeds since taking over from the borough council.


Walney South county councillor Frank Cassidy said: "Compared with other towns some of our streets are in a poor state because of weeds and litter. That situation cannot be denied.

"Cumbria County Council has had to grapple with Conservative government budget cuts of £200m – which has had an impact on the services we are able to deliver.

"But the weeds problem is pretty shocking and I am one of several councillors who have held talks with paid council officers over recent weeks about tackling the situation.

"Weed spraying has now begun and the plan is to spray all streets on an area-by-area basis.

"We will be monitoring how effective this is, and our aim is to bring all the streets up to scratch."