A WINSFORD family are desperate to have their privacy back as they face up to life without a back garden fence.

Mark and Jackie Slater are also concerned for the safety of their three-year-old daughter Hanna, as the garden backs on to a car park and leads to nearby Darnhall School Lane.

As the house is at the end of a row in Austin Close, on the Glebe Green estate, two sides of their garden are exposed in full view, something they have put up with since moving in last month.

Mark said: "We don't know where the original fence is, as it was taken before we moved in, but we can't believe it.

"The main issues are Hanna's safety and the fact that our privacy's out of the window.

"If we can't take her to the park there's nowhere for her to play on her own. If we had a fence we could keep an eye on her and there's no danger of her wandering into the road.

"And when we have a meal we're in full view of the estate so we need a fence from the council as soon as possible."

And the family's problems don't end there. They can only hang washing inside the house to protect the clothing from being stolen, and the garden has been used as a late night dumping ground for household waste.

Mark added: "I woke up one morning and the back was full of rubbish. Someone even left a cooker there the other day!

"We've been to the council and explained without being nasty. Maybe they think there are more important things to do."

However, Vale Royal Borough Council seem to be in the process of putting an end to Mark and Jackie's nightmare - and soon.

A spokesman said: "Our system of priorities only allows us a certain time and we have issued the job to the contractors. It should be done within the next 10 days."

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