A public green space in Swindon became an eyesore after contractors working on nearby homes left a hazardous mess behind.

Part of a grassy area at the junction of Cunningham Road and Northern Road in Pinehurst which is often used by dogwalkers and playing children became inaccessible for months as construction vehicles parked up to carry out upgrade works on neighbouring council houses.

A section of the space was fenced off, reportedly forcing passing pedestrians to walk into the road if they needed to get past.

The crew packed up and left earlier this month - but left much of the grass ripped up into muddy patches covered by shards of debris such as brick, glass, pipes, woodwork, and plastic pieces.

John Mackney contacted the Adver to express his frustrations and raise safety concerns about the state of the public green.

The 39-year-old said: "There were works on that site for over a year and now it's finished, they have left it in a horrible manner.

"There are screws and broken glass, there are deep rut marks where the traffic came in and parked on them, it looks horrible.

"It feels disrespectful that the council can use public space like this and then leave it in such a mess.

"I've lived here for 18 years. I have to avoid that area when walking my dog now, and children used to play there before but it's not safe enough now.

"A rake and a litter picker would get rid of most of it.

"Now Swindon Borough Council will have to clear it up at an additional cost to us.

"It should be part of the third party's contract with SBC that it is their responsibility to leave the site in the state that they found it, otherwise this will just keep happening.

"CityFibre worked on a similar site nearby and left it in exactly the state they found it, so it can be done."

In the end, Mr Mackney's fear that the taxpayer would be footing the bill for this clean-up effort did not come to pass.

On Tuesday, a Swindon Borough Council spokesperson confirmed that the contractors had now returned to the area to tidy up their mess and will be coming back in the near future to plant grass seeds on the damaged ground.