A LEDBURY mum is so fed up with park users urinating against her garden fence she has resorted to using a hosepipe on them.

Louise Holmes has tried soaking the offenders as well as shouting at them from a bedroom window – all to no avail.

She says the problem has been going on more than two years.

The news this week prompted a Ledbury-based county councillor to say he was “horrified that social behaviour in the town has dropped so much”.

Mrs Holmes, who lives with her family in Long Acres and whose home backs onto the Recreation Ground, said: “They urinate against my back fence and then it seeps through.

“My children, who are 14, 12 and 10, still have to play in the garden.

“We’ve lived here the last eight years but the problem has really got worse in the last two years. The smell that’s left is just horrendous.”

Mrs Holmes says the culprits are of differing ages, adding that some of her neighbours with children have experienced the same problem.

“These people are too idle to find a toilet,” she added.

“In the past I’ve shouted out of bedroom windows at them, and even hosepiped them.”

Last summer, a study by Ledbury’s town plan steering group found young children don’t feel safe on the Recreation Ground because of the anti-social behaviour of some youths, including drinking and drug-taking.

Councillor Peter Watts, a member of both Ledbury Town Council and Herefordshire Council, said he was disgusted to hear of the behaviour.

“I’m absolutely horrified that social behaviour in Ledbury has dropped so much,” he said.

“It’s a public order offence so the police should be involved.”

He said putting toilets on the Recreation Ground was out because of a lack of funds, adding that those using the park can use the nearby Halo facilities.

He said that directing CCTV cameras on residents’ fences would pose a privacy issue. Instead, he suggested that Mrs Holmes could use security lights which would to alert her to offenders approaching her property.

Fellow town councillor Tony Bradford, meanwhile, called on the culprits to pack it in.

“Would they like people to come to their homes and do it?” he asked.

Mrs Holmes said she had reported the incident to police but West Mercia Police spokeswoman Sarah Buxton said she could find no record.

“We can only act upon the information we receive and if local residents would like to report incidents to us, they can do so by calling 101.”