Sands resident fears major fire could break out as grass 'left to rot' after council cut it

Malcolm Jacks, who lives on Carisbrooke Avenue in Sands, says he fears a situation which saw houses destroyed in a huge fire in East London on one of the hottest days in the UK ever could be repeated where he lives. 

He has complained to Buckinghamshire Council that when teams come round to mow the verges in his road, they are leaving the cut grass there, which he says could be a major fire risk. 

He said: "What happened in London and elsewhere last week could have just as well happened in my road. 

"The council cut the grass verge along our street every few months, but leave the grass to rot or dry.

"As you have seen in the past week it only takes a spark to ignite such grass during a heatwave."

Mr Jacks has asked Buckinghamshire Council to take the cut grass with them after it's mown.

He said: "First they said it's ok we are going to some rain. Then they answered by saying they do the same as other councils and just cut the grass.

"Then they said they don't have the resourses to collect the cut grass.

"If we are not more vigilant about the consequences of global warming, we will lose before we start."

The situation has left Mr Jacks upset and fearing the worst could happen. 

He said: "I can't stress how upset I am at the attitude of the council's response.

"What happened in London and elsewhere the last week could have just as well have happened in my road."

Jilly Jordan, deputy cabinet member for environment at Buckinghamshire Council, said: “As a council, we take the issue of global climate change very seriously, as it impacts us all.

"It is one of the reasons we have reduced the number of cuts on rural grass to a narrow strip, to allow good visibility for road users for safety reasons, but also allows an increase in biodiversity.

"A full width cut is done every three years to minimise the fire risk by removing the woody undergrowth.

"Removing the cut grass increases our carbon footprint, which is why we are actively exploring a number of sites, including urban, where we are trialling more sustainable ways to remove cuttings and encouraging biodiversity on our roadside verges.

“Unfortunately, the extremely dry conditions we have been facing lately mean that there is a potential risk of very dry grass catching fire, and this risk is the same whether the grass is cut or not.

"It is important for us all to be vigilant and take extra care to ensure that fires are not started accidentally, such as while using disposable barbecues on grassy areas.”