A fed-up resident has compared the state of grass verges in his road to The Somme battlefield.

Heavy vehicles cutting corners and this year's exceptionally wet start have compounded the issue, Terry Fordham believes.

Mr Fordham, 63, who has lived in Atherfield Road, Woodhatch, for 25 years says he has complained to Surrey County Council about the issue many times over the years, but nothing has been resolved.

He said: "There are a lot of old people around here and if they slip it could be dangerous, or if a young child slipped they could easily break a leg – or worse."

The father-of-four compared the state of the verges to the First World War battlegrounds on the banks of the river Somme, in France.

He explained: "When I first moved here it was a clean and pleasant place to live, but unfortunately not any more.

"Atherfield Road is a narrow road with a grass verge on one side and common land on the other.

"Because it's so narrow when cars are parked on one side any large vans or lorries, like refuge or delivery trucks cannot get down the road without going on to the grass verge.

"As this has been a wet winter the verge has turned into what resembles the Somme battlefields."

He said the first 20 yards at the entrance to the road was the worst with ruts over a foot deep in some places.

The projects engineer added: "It's not such a problem in the summer months but this year has been ridiculous with the amount of rain we've had. It just looks dirty and unsightly."

A Surrey County Council spokesman said: "Verge damage by parked vehicles is a common problem across Surrey and it is a difficult one to police. One option is to put up temporary warning signs but this is only appropriate in some circumstances. If residents do have concerns they can contact the council and we will investigate to see if action can be taken."