A pensioner on a Kidlington estate claims an overgrown hedge is blighting her life.

May Clegg by the tree that blocks the light from her home in Kidlington

May Clegg says the 30ft hedge facing the front doors of six bungalows in Bellenger Way, on the Grovelands estate, blocks out the light.

Repeated requests for them to be trimmed back have been ignored, she claims.

Mrs Clegg, who celebrates her 80th birthday at the end of the month, has lived in the warden-assisted accommodation since the bungalows were built 22 years ago.

A widow, with Second World War and peacetime Army service, she shares her home with a retired German Shepherd police dog.

She said: "There are 35 bungalows here, most of them facing the other way.

"But our six are back to front with the rest and face this hedge, which surrounds a children's playing field behind Exeter Hall.

"The fronts look out on to this hedge, and the backs face a brick wall -- we've no outlook at all.

"The hedge is very high, around the height of a three-storey house, and it blocks out the light.

"It's all right in the bright sunshine we've had lately, but on cloudy days you need the light on sometimes even during the day."

She added: "A man came along with a hedgecutter, but he only trimmed the bits overhanging the path. What it really needs is trimming from the top.

"I've lost count of the number of times I've complained to the council, but nothing gets done."

Trish Redpath, clerk to Kidlington Parish Council, which is responsible for the upkeep of the hedge, said Cherwell District Council had provided them with a quote to undertake the work on their behalf, but it had been declined because of lack of funds in the current year's budget.

She said: "If we can divert funds somehow, we will try and do this, but otherwise it will have to go into the next financial year, which starts in April.

"As spring is not the time to start cutting back hedges, because of nesting birds, it might have to wait until the autumn next year."