A DISABLED man who suffers from chronic back pain has finally had the grass cut outside his home – after a hurry-up from a council boss to contractors.

David Creamer, of Groessffordd, spent weeks complaining to the council about the dishevelled state of the lawns around his bungalow and was shocked when it was suggested to him that he cut the jungly verges himself.

After a report carried in this newspaper at the beginning of June, council bosses scrambled to fix the problem.

Mr Creamer said last week the contractors had quickly cut a strip of grass outside his fence and strimmed stretches of rampaging wild sward around the bus stop and along the roadsides.

The embarrassed councillors are now warning that services must drastically improve “with immediate effect”.

Councillor Liam Fitzpatrick told the contractors that they could be hit with penalties, or even lose their contracts, if the level of their grass-cutting service did not improve.

In a strongly worded statement, he said: “From my first day in office as Cabinet Member for Highways, I have received a high level of complaints with regard to grass cutting.

“These relate to both the reduced level of service and also the performance from contractors throughout the county. I recognise the real anguish and distress this is causing residents of Powys.

“I have today advised contractors in the strongest possible terms that I wish to see a visible improvement in their performance with immediate effect and that they comply with the terms of the contract and the agreed work. Should I not see an immediate improvement, penalty clauses will be imposed alongside plans to ensure the service is delivered as specified. Their performance will have a bearing on whether or not the contract continues.”

Mr Creamer, who suffers “24-hour” back pain caused by an arthritic condition known as spondylitis, was becoming increasingly frustrated about the failure of the council to do anything about the verges next to his home.

When the B&R Express ran its story the verges were up to waist height and Mr Creamer, who is 51, said when he rang the council he was asked whether he “had a strimmer”, with the implication being that he cut the grass himself.

Mr Creamer said he had called the council five times between May and the first week of June when he rang the B&R.

Mr Creamer put the failure to cut his grass down to council cuts but he said the area around his home seemed to have been “forgotten about” with the grass being cut only three times a year.

“If you look elsewhere in Brecon, the bungalows are looked after. Nothing gets done whatsoever. We are forgotten about in Groesffordd.”