A CHIPPENHAM woman has been left angry with her housing association after hedges which surrounded her house have been ‘hacked down’.

Beth Albrighton and her husband, Richard, have lived on Clifton Close for more than ten years, but don’t understand why housing association GreenSquare have cut down most of the hedge which surrounds their house.

The 48-year-old fears that people are now able to access the outside communal area between the houses and use it as a shortcut, now that the hedge has been cut down from around nine feet to three feet.

“It’s just absolutely unbelievable,” said Mrs Albrighton, whose daughters, Jessie and Louisa, also live at the property.

“I’ve been here just over ten years and the hedge has always been high, they did try and cut it down once before, that was probably six or eight years ago but we asked them not to do that and they listened.

“The two reasons they gave as to cutting it down was because it’s a health and safety hazard to trim it because they have to go up on ladders.

“The other reason is they say it’s obstructing the footpath that runs down Hungerdown Lane but the nearest branch is about 12 feet away.”

The hedge has been cut at either end but Mrs Albrighton now fears that GreenSquare will come back to finish the job and cut down the remaining bit near her house.

“They said they were coming back to take it down there,” added Mrs Albrighton, who works as a lettings administrator. “They haven’t cut it, they’ve hacked it down.”

Nigel Bridge, head of property services at GreenSquare, said: “Our grounds maintenance team has started the works to tidy up the overgrown hedge and to reduce its height.

“In hindsight, we are sorry not to have consulted local residents before commencing works and will now be discussing the extent and programming of the works with them before continuing.”