Owermoigne quits Best Kept Village Awards over grass row

The grass on the verges of the A352 has obscured the Owermoigne village sign

A former Best Kept Village Awards winner has pulled out of this year's competition because of the "terrible state" of its green spaces.

Owermoigne parish council and residents argue the grass in public areas of the Dorset village, which the county council is responsible for cutting, are not being mowed regularly enough.

In some areas, including by the A352, it has been up to 5ft (1.5m) high.

The county council said it had since cut the grass in the affected areas.

In some areas of the village the grass in public areas has been up to 5ft-high (1.5m)

Tony Wormald, vice chairman of the parish council, had said: "The state of the grass on the main entranceway on the main highway, and then into the village by the church, is in such a terrible state."

He said the parish council had been left with "no option" but to withdraw from the competition, which it has previously won awards for in 2004, 2005 and 2011.

Residents have described the long grass as an eyesore and an embarrassment.

The village's millennium stone has been overgrown with grass

The village sign and stone are visible to visitors when the grass is cut

Dorset County Council said Owermoigne has seven scheduled cuts a year, usually starting in mid-March.

It said daffodils within the grass had meant it had taken until now for the most recent cut to be carried out.

"To ensure a good show next spring we need to allow the green parts to produce energy which is stored in the bulb for the next year's growth," it the council said.