A PERSHORE councillor has hit out at what he calls the "poor maintenance" of the town centre by the county council.

At a recent meeting councillor Chris Parsons, a former mayor of Pershore, said he couldn't believe the way the town was being treated by the county council.

His main concern was the maintenance of the town centre, which he said was not up to scratch, claiming it was taking years for the council to sort out problems they were aware of.

He raised three major concerns, the bollards being knocked over and not repaired, the thickness of the trees in Broad Street and state of the paving in the town centre.

He said: "The county council seem to drag their heels in repairing or replacing these bollards. I understand the one outside Coffee#1 we reported in 2011.

"What disappoints me with all these three items is that Pershore town hosts some very prestigious events which bring in lots of visitors and what do we promote, bollards that are cock eyed.

"I had a complaint today, one person in Broad Street on a dull day has to have the lights on because the trees are excluding so much light.

"The block paving, this has been reported going back to 2009. Ten dates we have reported the block paving.

"That's not the way we should promote our town centre."

Cllr Parsons raised his concerns at a meeting of the town council last Thursday and was backed by his fellow councillors, particularly Cllr Val Wood, who has been reporting similar problems for years.

"This problem has to be adressed," said Cllr Wood. "I have know people that have tripped, it's got worse they (tree roots) are coming up. It can't wait another year because someone's going to get badly hurt."

But the county council said they were not aware of all the problems.

Cllr John Smith, county council cabinet member for Highways, said: "The county council is aware of the trees in Pershore and has been monitoring them for some time.

"At present they do not pose a safety risk and there is no action to be taken. However we continue to monitor and will take appropriate action when necessary.

"We are not aware of the issue surrounding bollards and will request an inspector to visit the site and report back."