WORST CUT IS STEEPEST FOR COUNCIL

Grass cutting has halted on many embankments in Fife, something the local authority admits could lead to “poor maintenance”.

Fife Council says it is considering alternative options, including the use of growth retardant. Steven Falconer, 42, of Glenrothes, said: “No one wants to see a workman getting hurt, but surely a bit of common sense is all that’s required.

“The old nursery rhyme said ‘one man went to mow’, but I guess in Fife he just came back again if the landscape wasn’t flat.”

Jim Hooton, Fife Council’s manager for Parks and Countryside, said: “Fortunately, we’ve had no serious injuries in Fife but four mowers have overturned in recent years.”

In the past decade 143 people have died in the UK in accidents related to cutting grass.