A ROSE Hill street is a risk to the health and safety of people living there, according to a resident and former city council street sweeper.

Donald Young, who cleaned city streets for 14 years, claimed Williamson Way had been abandoned by council cleaning teams and should be cleaned more thoroughly.

He said: “The grass is growing all over the pavements and bins at the top of the road have been smashed down, but nothing has been done.

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“They just don’t seem to care.

“There is a manhole cover missing where a young child or dog could fall down and break their leg.

“As a former street cleaner I know the weeds need to be cut out and the channels swept.

“There seems to be no common sense any more. There doesn’t seem to be any pride in keeping people’s streets clean.”

Mr Young contacted the Oxford Mail after reading about a list of the city’s grubbiest streets complied by council bosses in the paper on September 30.

He said: “I read the Oxford Mail and saw the article and I thought ‘my street is dirtier than that’.”

Rose Hill and Iffley city councillor Ed Turner said: “I’ve not been contacted regarding Williamson Way, but did go on a walkabout with the streetscene manager earlier this year and we picked up on some issues.

“Obviously I’d encourage any resident with concerns to contact the council, or indeed me and my fellow councillor Michele Paule as councillors if it’s in our area.”

Oxford City Council said they had not received any complaints about the street, but would be cleaning it soon.

Spokesman Chofamba Sithole said: “We are not aware of any complaints by residents about the cleanliness of the street.

“However, as part of our regular cleaning schedule, the street is due a deep clean in about two weeks.

“It will also be treated to eliminate weeds in the third and final spraying operation across the city for this year.

“Replacement of drain covers is the responsibility of the highways authority and, where this is needed, we will inform them accordingly.”

But Mr Young said he felt more street cleaners were needed to tackle the problem.

He added: “People do throw litter but I believe the main problem is the frequency of cleaning is not there like it used to be.”

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