The Ford discovery: Council workers find Escort buried in back garden

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The Ford discovery: Council workers find Escort buried in back garden


In Slough, Sir John Betjeman assured us, 'there isn't grass to graze a cow'. While that may be true, there was certainly enough in one resident's back garden to completely engulf a car.

The silver Ford Escort, dating from the early 1980s, was unearthed by council workers ordered to clear the dense undergrowth at the home of Annis Dodds in the Berkshire town.

The tangle of vegetation had been there so long that it is thought even Mrs Dodds herself didn't know a car was under there. As well as the rusting vehicle – with an air freshener still dangling jauntily from its rear-view mirror – they also found a carpet and other household items.



The clearance team was called in after Mrs Dodds, who is thought to be in her 40s, ignored an official notice to cut back the garden. She was also ordered to hire a pest contractor after complaints from her neighbours that the undergrowth was infested with rats.

Yesterday, they spoke about how the overgrown mess had brought misery to their lives.

One neighbour, who did not wish to be identified, said: 'We had rats in our garden and garage because of it and there were nasty bugs everywhere.

'In the summer it used to smell really badly as well. We always used to wonder what was under all the weeds.

'It was so bad I'm not really even that surprised that they found a car there. Heaven knows how anyone could be so slovenly as to live like that.'

The neighbour added: 'We complained to the council and we're so relieved that they have finally sorted it out.

'I just hope she keeps the garden tidy now and doesn't let it go back to how it was.'

Mrs Dodds, who was prosecuted under the Prevention of Damage by Pests Act, was fined £500 at Maidenhead Magistrates Court, and ordered to pay £1,000 costs to the council. The case against her was proved in her absence last Friday.

Sarah Hines-Randall, who led the clean-up team for Slough council, said: 'We were astonished at the amount of vegetation, but even more so to find an old car rusting away in the undergrowth. We're really pleased with the outcome of the prosecution and it should hopefully send out a firm message to others that they need to keep their gardens clean.

'I can't stress enough how important it is to maintain the areas we live in.'

Mrs Dodds, who lives in the house with her son, was unavailable for comment yesterday.