RESIDENTS and a town's mayoress-elect have accused council bosses of vandalism after workmen mowed down hundreds of spring daffodils.

Blackburn with Darwen Council has permitted its gardeners to clip the flowers -- in some cases before they have even bloomed -- because council workmen can't trim the grass around the stems.

A council spokesman said the directive came after residents living near daffodil patches complained about the long grass and the areas affected include Brownhill Drive and Buncer Lane.

But Coun Sheilia Williams, of Beardwood with Lammack and mayoress from May, said: "I have been in touch with the council and there is going to be a selective cull of these daffodils and particularly in Brownhill Drive where they have had complaints.

"They said that motorists cannot see coming out of Brownhill Drive. This would have been condemned if pupils of Witton Park, adjacent to Buncer Lane, had damaged these bulbs.

"What message does this adult vandalism send out? Only a philistine would accept the stems after enjoying the glorious display of blooms. The decision is deplorable and typical of this council, where if a few complain every one eventually suffers." Coun Williams, whose ward includes Buncer Lane, said she had not received any complaints about long grass.

And John Wade, a resident in Buncer Lane, said: "It is awful. Nobody seems to be concerned. I think there are only two daffodils left on Buncer Lane, near the top. This is a particularly awful spring because you cannot walk through the park because of foot and mouth disease and now there are no flowers. The people who got Easter bouquets from here will now probably steal them from the gardens! Around here the vandals have been the council."

Mary Pinto, from Revidge, was driving along Buncer Lane when she saw a worker's grass cutter behead a group of daffodils. She said: "I parked my car, ran up to him and said, 'Do you know you are cutting the daffodils?' He gave me his boss's number and I rang it and was told that it had been decided that in certain areas they would cut down all of them before they came out. They had had complaints about how untidy daffodils were when they died, but they are cutting them now -- why can't they wait until they are dead?"

Darren Bell, landscape services officer at Blackburn with Darwen Council, said: "The council maintains a number of areas of land across the borough of Blackburn with Darwen. Some of these areas contain naturalised bulbs and in order to ensure that these bulbs continue to flower and grow, the stalks need to be left for a period of between six and eight weeks after flowering."

"During this time the grass around the bulb grows very long and becomes unsightly, therefore we have decided to selectively remove bulbs from areas where we receive a considerable number of complaints."