Common sense prevails: Residents defy 'crazy' health and safety advice to clear vital road ignored by Portsmouthcouncil

Published 12th Jan 2010

They had been told their local council couldn't help. So more than 100 snowed-in residents decided to take matters - or shovels - into their own hands.

Digging their way through three inches of ice and snow, they defied health and safety warnings to clear their street themselves.

The group of 120, ranging in age from three to 80, took just over an hour to clear 400 yards of Galt Road in Farlington, near Portsmouth, after the local council decided it was not a high priority.

The clearing was organised by Wing Commander Paddy O'Kennedy, 45, who dismissed warnings from the authorities that residents could be sued if someone slipped on a public path they had cleared themselves.

'I mean, there's health and safety and there's just plain old commonsense,' he said.

'It's 100 times safer out there now because we went out and did it ourselves. If the council don't like what I did in organising this then they can sue me.'


On Saturday, Galt Road was thick with snow and ice and elderly residents were completely stranded. The 400 yard stretch of road was cleared in just over an hour, creating a safe route for residents

Wg Cdr O'Kennedy, who works with the Royal Marines, dropped flyers suggesting the clearing in his neighbours' letterboxes on Saturday. Scores turned out to help the next day.

Resident Trevor Jones said: 'At least two or three people had phoned the council and got nowhere so we thought we would do it ourselves - it was a bit of the old Dunkirk spirit.'

A spokesman for Portsmouth City Council praised the residents' community spirit but said main roads were the top priority for clearing.

Source: ' Daily Mail '

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