A Wimblington businessman has urged roadside verges to be kept cut back after he was involved in a serious collision because he said he could not see an oncoming car due to six feet high grass.

Ashtok Gupta suffered whiplash and his car written off in the two vehicle collision that prompted a plea for motorists to report overgrown vegetation to the county council.

Following the accident on the A10 Cambridgeshire County Council pledged to make sure all areas of long grass were cut back and said the recent spate of wet weather had encouraged extra growth and hampered cutting.

A spokesman for the county council said: “We are concerned to hear of this accident but it would be inappropriate for us to comment on the cause of it.

“But we will visit the junction and cut it. Grass and verge cutting is currently being carried out across Cambridgeshire at the moment.

“The wet weather has encouraged extra growth and hampered some cutting. But where we are notified of safety concerns around vision splays caused by high verges we will go and tackle these separately.

“We are currently carrying out that work and would invite people to report junctions where there are vision issues caused by high verges.”

Mr Gupta, was on his way to a meeting in Chelmsford when he was involved in a collision at the junction with the A10 at Stretham Station Road, near Ely, on Monday morning (27).

He said: “I was joining the A10 from the direction of Witchford and, despite stopping and carefully scrutinising my path ahead, failed to notice an oncoming car to my right, travelling at 55mph, as reported by the other driver to the police at the accident site.

“For the crucial seconds that really mattered the other car was hidden from view by the very tall grass and vegetation that the local council had failed to cut down.

“I use this road and junction frequently and am very conscious of the huge danger posed by this negligence on the part of the council.

“The previous day at that spot I had pointed out to my partner the huge danger posed by this state of affairs - not realising that the very next day the other driver and I would suffer serious consequences.

“Both of us suffered injuries and the cars appear to be write-offs. It is just sheer good fortune that we survived.

“At the accident site I pointed out to the policeman who attended, the state of the overgrown vegetation and he agreed and stated that he would contact the council to cut the grass.”

A couple of hours later when his partner used the same junction to collect him from Addenbrooke’s, the vegetation on either side of the road, about six feet high, had been flattened rather than cut down.

Mr Gupta said: “We are aware that the councils are struggling with cuts, but does it need a few deaths or serious injuries for them to realise the huge risks that they are posing to the people they are meant to serve?

“I feel it is only a matter of time before there are further serious incidents and I would like to elicit your help to bring this serious situation to the notice of the council and, to the public, a caution to be more vigilant until the council does decide to get its act together.”