A COUNCIL chairman has called for action over a dangerous cycle path which has led to 'a lot of near-misses' between dog walkers and cyclists.

Dog walkers and cyclists have almost crashed into each other numerous times on the pavement in Hastings Drive, Warndon Villages, Worcester.

The pavement is split into a footpath and cycleway, with a white line separating the two.

However opponents say the hedge next to the footpath is not cut quick enough and often forces pedestrians into the cycle lane.

Cllr Ray Morris, chairman of Warndon Parish Council, said: "It's a constant cause of concern.

"There's been a lot of near-misses. The footpath and the cycleway is one piece of tarmac with a line down the middle. One side of the pavement is the footpath, the other side is the cycleway.

"I would prefer that there isn't a lane there at all and people accept that there will be pedestrians and cyclists. Or put the footpath next to the grass verge.

"In summer the hedge is so overgrown that the footpath often goes to a foot-and-a-half width.

"It is often not cut quick enough and that means people are going in the cycle path. I have been raising this now for the best part of three years.

"They have cut the hedge but it just grows back and you still have the problem with [dog walker's] leads stretching across the cycleway."

The chairman said he had been reassured that the county council was now doing something about the issue.

Cllr Stephen Hodgson said: "For years it wasn't really an issue and then what happened was some money was spent on painting a line that made a cycle lane.

"I don't know why the line was painted. They split it fifty-fifty on the footpath but what happened is the hedge that runs along there encroaches on the majority of the pedestrian side.

"They have cut it back quite a bit."

The hedge was last cut within the past few weeks.