GRASS verges are becoming “overgrown”, “scruffy” and “dangerous” because council workers have not yet got to grips with their new mowers, it is claimed.

The Argus has been inundated with complaints from readers about the long grass around Brighton and Hove since the start of summer.

Council bosses have said the growth is down to a change in the mowers they use – which are more difficult to use on steep banks.

Sarah Gander, of Maresfield Road, Brighton, said grass near her home is four feet tall.

She said: “Not only does this make crossing the road a dangerous task but it also looks untidy and scruffy.

“The opposite side of the road has been cut four times since our side was last cut.”

She said it was so long she could have lost her four-year-old daughter in the grass.

The batch of complaints comes after mourners told us of their disgust at the length of grass in cemeteries.

Brenda Holden, 72, of Keymer Avenue, Peacehaven, said: “It’s insulting to the dead. We are more affluent than ever and this has never happened before.”

Mrs Holden’s husband, who died ten years ago, is buried in the Bear Road cemetery with his mother and grandmother.

She added: “Now the council just cuts around the graves that are obviously looked-after.

“I have stopped visiting my husband’s grave as I find the place so upsetting. The gardener there is nice and helpful but there’s little he can do. Why has this area become so neglected?”

Tracy Coom also contacted us to complain.

She said: “The grass was extremely long, very overgrown and dangerous to walk on as you cannot see where you are walking.

“The council has now mowed a pathway but there is still very long grass around the graves, which is very upsetting.”

In relation to the grass banks, a Brighton and Hove City Council spokesman said workers had recently moved over to using four-stroke mowers to cut back on the emissions from its old two-stroke machines.

However, the new mowers are more difficult to get up steep banks, meaning they are not only cut less often than flatter verges but also with a strimmer.

He added: “Grass in some parts of the city is long and we reassure residents that all grass-cutting crews are being deployed as normal and every effort is being made to catch up on those areas. Some areas require manual cutting due to inclines.”

With regards to the cemeteries, he said the council prioritises areas of graveyards that it thinks are most visited.