Suffolk Highways admits responsibility for Wickhambrook weedkiller incident which left Boyden Close residents furious and mystified

The highways authority has admitted responsibility for a weedkiller incident which damaged residents' gardens and left them demanding answers as to who was the culprit.

Residents of Boyden Close, in Wickhambrook, near Bury St Edmunds, were left furious and mystified after parts of their gardens were killed by the haphazard spraying of herbicides on May 1.

At the time they had no clue who was responsible despite contacting the district and county councils.

Suffolk Highways has now admitted culpability for the damage and issued an apology, saying remediation work will be taking place soon.

Phil King, 64, has lived in the close with his wife Angela for 24 years and has stood firm in his belief that he and his fellow residents deserve compensation.

“They’re (Suffolk Highways) meant to be coming out on Monday to do something about it, but I don’t know what though,” he said.

“I don’t feel a lot better about it really to tell you the truth, it never should have happened in the first place.

“It’s taken them how long to admit responsibility? I’m more angry about it now than I was before they admitted it.

“I need some sort of compensation.”

Mr King said he wants to see a ‘proper job’ done to remediate the damage and would like to be informed how this will be done.

Damage was also caused to other areas in the village, including Cemetery Road and Nunnery Green.

Hilary Workman, clerk for Wickhambrook Parish Council (WPC), said: “We’re really pleased to say that Suffolk Highways has apologised for the damage caused to private gardens and public spaces following one of their subcontractors applying weed treatment in the area in a manner which did not meet their usual standards.

“They have said that they appreciate that this has understandably caused upset and that a member of their team will be visiting to carry out a full assessment of the damage and determine how best to rectify this.”

A post on the WPC website, detailing a response from Suffolk Highways, said repairs would be carried out next week and the ‘operative in question’ was made aware of their error to prevent a recurrence.

The weed treatment was undertaken by a subcontractor.

A spokesperson for Suffolk Highways said: “Suffolk Highways apologises for the damage caused to the grass following weed treatment in the area.

“This does not meet our standards and a full assessment will be carried out to determine how best to rectify this.