Oxford City Council has been criticised for allowing weeds to grow 2ft high in a cul-de-sac.

Michael Behan, of St Omer Road, Cowley, at one point believed more innocuous plants had been joined by poisonous deadly nightshade as the rogue greenery began taking over in the street.

Mr Behan has been assured by the council that the vegetation is made up of harmless weeds, but the local authority has admitted it is experiencing a backlog in clearing the streets.

The 69-year-old said: "The weeds are on the pavements, up against the walls and in some places it's 2ft high. There are clumps of grass all down the guttering blocking the gutters down both sides of the road."

Mr Behan has contacted the council twice raising concerns about the levels of vegetation, last week telling officers he believed that there could be the deadly nightshade among the weeds.

He said: "I have asked for a street inspector to come down and see for himself and I can point out my observations.

"I have been told that it's down to be done, but surely it should automatically be done?

"It's not good enough. We're paying a proportionate percentage of council tax for street maintenance and we're not getting it up here."

Mr Behan is concerned that the vegetation is blocking drains and could cause problems with flooding. He said: "We think the area has really been neglected, compared to some of the other streets around here.

"My concerns is if we get a deluge of rain the vegetation will divert it into the road rather than allow it to flow freely down the gutters and we do not want a flood at the bottom of our road.

"I'm sure the people who live in Cleveland Drive, which adjoins it, don't want it either.

"It's worse than it was last year, because what we're getting is a multiplication of seeds and no-one appears to be doing anything from year to year."

A city council spokesman said: "An officer from our parks department visited St Omer Road on Monday and cannot find any traces of deadly nightshade.

"If the resident wishes to contact our parks department with a specific location, we're more than happy to visit the area again.

"We're currently experience a backlog with the general weeding programme, as we're very dependent on the weather conditions."