Overhanging trees and vegetation that had covered a cycleway and footpath in Watford have been cut back.

Hertfordshire County Council cleared the final section of the overgrown paths alongside the A405 in Garston from St Albans Road to the M1 on Monday, March 1.

Three Rivers Liberal Democrat councillor Stephen Giles-Medhurst said the move has “at last made the paths useable” after being overgrown for a year.

But while thankful that the overhanging trees and vegetation were cut back, he said it “should not have taken that sort of time to clear”.

Watford Observer: Left - How the paths looked before: Right - How they look now (photo Stephen Giles-Medhurst)Left - How the paths looked before: Right - How they look now (photo Stephen Giles-Medhurst)

Cllr Giles-Medhurst said: “All last summer it was ignored but I am pleased that at last it's been done. This should be on an annual maintenance cycle and it should not take a dozen complaints to get it sorted."

But Phil Bibby, Conservative executive member for Highways and the Environment at Hertfordshire County Council, said budgeting and priorities means “you can’t always do what you want to do straight away”.

He said: “We are putting more money into making sure that our footways and cycleways are clear. We have put another £3 million in for the next two years.

“Unfortunately, we haven’t had the budget to do everything before now. We have done as much as we can and spent 10 per cent of our core maintenance budget on footways and cycleways, so it’s not as if we have been doing nothing.”