AN 84-year-old man had enough of an overgrown footpath not being cleared for more than two years – so he went out and tried to clear it himself. But after Arthur Readshaw s wife Barbara watched him hacking away at the branches, which block the footpath th

AN 84-year-old man had enough of an overgrown footpath not being cleared for more than two years - so he went out and tried to clear it himself.

But after Arthur Readshaw's wife Barbara watched him hacking away at the branches, which block the footpath that runs behind their bungalow in Cotswold Close, March, on Tuesday afternoon, she said it was about time the council stepped in to help.

Mrs Readshaw, 79, said: "We have called Fenland District Council, and been to the one stop shops, to report the problem for more than two years and still it seems like they won't do anything about it.

"I was so upset watching Arthur desperately trying to clear the path using a rake and garden fork."

Mrs Readshaw said she blames their neighbours who, she thinks, have left the hedges to overgrow.

"You cannot get through," she said. "The brambles are overgrowing so much they are now growing into our garden.

"If someone put a match down here the whole place would go up.

"We have kept the path clear for 30 years but we are getting to old to do it now."

The path runs between Cotswold Close and River Drive.

A county council spokesman promised to investigate.