Council refuses to trim wheelchair-bound man's hedge

Paul Cobb, 41, from Nevill Crescent, Lewes, has a muscle wasting disorder and has been confined to a wheelchair since he suffered a workplace accident 16 years ago.

The council has told him his 15-year-old son should cut his garden hedge or he should use his disability allowance to pay council workman.

Mr Cobb said: 'First the council said I should ask my son to do it but he's only 15 and the hedge is 50ft wide and 8ft high.

'The council told me the work had to done and said they would do it themselves if I couldn't but would charge me 400.'

A spokeswoman for Lewes District Council said the council did not have a budget to provide gardening for tenants who were elderly or disabled.

She said: 'Mr Cobb is disabled but the family's income appears sufficient, given the various additional benefits that he receives, to employ someone to carry out the hedge trimming just as all our other elderly and disabled tenants have to.

'We know that apart from Mr Cobb there are three other adults living at the property and a 15-year-old youth none of whom suffer from any disability.

'It may be that they could assist in the trimming of the hedge if Mr Cobb does not wish to pay for it to be done.

'We do not know where the alleged quote of 400 came from but we are quite prepared to arrange for the hedge to be cut back by our contractors and recharge Mr Cobb. He could pay this back over a period of time by arrangement if that is what he wants.'

Volunteers from Lewes Little Gardens, a gardening and litter picking group, took has now helped Mr Cobb.

He said: 'I'm very grateful to them because I couldn't have done it otherwise.'