Pictures which have been circulated online show various public spaces across the authority area, where overgrown shrubs and grass can be seen.

Many of the photographs show pieces of land with a rough cut around the edges and towering grass and weeds in the centre.

At the West Dunbartonshire Council budget meeting in March, councillors agreed cuts to services in order to plug an estimated £7.7million gap.

Grass cutting in the local authority was slashed by 50 per cent in open spaces and included a 20 per cent reduction in the cutting of grass within cemeteries.

A West Dunbartonshire Council spokesperson says the authority is targeting priority areas amid the reduced budget allocation from the SNP government.

The petition titled ‘Reverse Cuts to Grass Cutting in West Dunbartonshire – Protect Our Health, Safety & Public’  has raised several points of concern.

These include road safety, where overgrown grass becomes obstructive to traffic visibility and creates danger on the roads, ticks, vermin, dog fouling and children’s safety.

There is a large poster on the shop door at Mackie’s Pharmacy in High Street, Dumbarton, warning the public about the danger of ticks.

The Labour administration in West Dunbartonshire.

The petition reads: “This is no longer just a cosmetic issue — it’s a serious public health and safety matter.

“We pay full council tax. We deserve safe, maintained public areas – not to be treated like second-class citizens compared to neighbouring councils.

A West Dunbartonshire Council spokesperson made this oft repeated statement in mitigation through its on-line Complaints Column, which as answered by one offer earning £129,000 a year : “With a budget shortfall of £7.7m for 2025/26 and similar challenges forecast in future years, the Council agreed to a streamlined service to protect frontline services.

“This means grass cutting will continue in high amenity areas, including public parks and sport pitches, and teams will also continue to cut edges around areas near paths and properties.

“Grassed areas adjacent to roads are regularly monitored to ensure junctions are clear from obstruction.”

There are few if any high amenity areas left in West Dunbartonshire .

One angry council taxpayer said: “The Council have let most of the places that were once attractive go to the dogs. They are unsightly and abandoned and without question a public health hazard.

“If the Labour Party can do a U-turn involved £5 million in welfare benefits at national level then surely they can affoird a comparively few bob to scrap this idiotic grass cutting ban which will take more to fix, much more than it saves n service cuts such as this.”

He added: “Is there no one on the Council who has the guts to stand up and shout Stop? After all look at the poster Provost Douglas McAllister posted before his election. He is now the MP for West Dunbartonshire, God help us all.

People should read the promises made and broken by the ex Provost, Douglas McAllister, before he left for Westminister with the approval of most of our local voters – “I will restore council grass cutting and clean up our streets. Our Labour council will allocate an additional £5 million to resurface out pothole ridden roads and pavements.”

What a load of palaver.

“They should just get the grass cut and cut out the waffle.”

• Hubris is a terrible thing. If they had a brain in their head it would be lonely. The gaulietters who run our council need a way out of the budget cuts which have led to this shambles of them failing to cut the grass in open spaces. Here’s an idea. Why don’t they declare that leaving the grass to grow out of control has led to a public health emergency across West Dunbartonshire? That ticks are making life a misery for the citizens, particularly the children during the school holidays when they are out and about playing with their friends. That this is putting extra pressure on A&E Wards in hospitals and on local GPs? And that the only way to resolve this is to cut the long grass where disease lurks day and daily for not just the children but those people walk their dogs or simply go out for a stroll? 

It takes a long time for the penny to drop at West Dunbartonshire Council. They wouldn’t be in the mess they are in now if only they had listened to the many warnings that went out about ticks at the beginning of the summer.

It went like this: They’re back! With the much-anticipated warmer weather we will see an uptick in tick activity. Different ticks carry different diseases and there are many tick-borne diseases. Combating ticks takes a series of protective measures. You should wear appropriate clothing when in thick brush, use repellents, and remove ticks carefully. This graphic shows a few pointers for those who spend a lot of time in the hills or in the woods.

To learn more about ticks and their potential danger please visit the Ohio Department of Natural Resources at https://ohiodnr.gov/…/recreational-safety/ticks-in-ohio. Stay safe.

You would probably be better getting in touch with these people in Ohio than complaining to WDC when your complaint would not be dealt with but would be “passed to the team”.

See also the warning about ticks from the Director of Public Health in this issue of  The Dumbarton Democrat.