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Somerset woman stages naked protest at overgrown hedge

Jill White Jill White performing the naked protestJill White
Jill White took matters into her own hands with placards and strategically placed leaves

A woman has won a two-year battle to get foliage beside a busy road trimmed after she staged a naked protest.

Jill White, from Tatworth, Somerset, has been campaigning for the county council to cut the hedge next to a footpath on the A358, near her home.

She said it had become overgrown and her daughter had difficulty using the pavement in her wheelchair.

Ms White stood with strategically placed placards in full view of motorists cruising past on Thursday.

The placards read, "I've trimmed my bush, now Highways trim yours", in reference to Somerset County Council's highways department.

Ms White said her actions were borne out of frustration the path had not been made safe despite repeated requests by her and others, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

Jill White Wheelchair in bushy pathJill White
Jill White used her daughter's wheelchair to show the hazard the hedge was causing

"After repeatedly requesting that the footpath from Tatworth to Chard be passable for pedestrians, wheelchair users and pushchairs, and after the council's inaction I decided to have my own personal, light-hearted protest," she said.

"I've been requesting it for nearly two years. We have a fuel crisis and a poor bus service, so people are having to walk.

"We're coming into the school holidays, and an accident will happen."

The A358 Tatworth Road lies within the Chard Eastern Development Area, where the majority of Chard's new housing will be delivered in the coming decades.

Jill White Jill White holding signJill White
Ms White spent nearly two years requesting the hedges be trimmed

Some 200 homes are being built on the Snowdon Grange site just off the A358.

Despite this, there have been limited efforts made in recent times to widen or enhance the existing footpaths, leaving pedestrians and other road users vulnerable to cars, Ms White said.

Two county councillors have since confirmed that work to clear the footpath and trim the hedges will begin next week.

"There has been a work order raised and I am now chasing a date for the work to be completed," councillor Jason Baker said.

"We need to ensure that the path is cleared as well as the undergrowth being cut."

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