OVERGROWN tree branches should be given the chop, say councillors who are backing a campaign to make streets safer for visually impaired people.

Wear Valley district councillors are supporting an appeal by the Guide Dogs for the Blind Association to get people to cut their hedges, after a survey revealed that 95 per cent of blind and partially sighted guide dog owners felt overhanging vegetation was the greatest hazard they faced.

The association's Don't Be An April Fool campaign seeks to encourage town planners, bar owners and the public to think about partially sighted people when planning pedestrian zones, or putting caf chairs or other obstructions on the street.

Chairman of Wear Valley District Council, Councillor Wilf Dobinson, launched the campaign this week by helping to trim some local authority hedges in Crook.

He said: "This is an easy way in which we can all make a real difference to safety on the streets for guide dog owners and other visually impaired people."

The survey found that cars parked on pavements, wheelie bins and caf chairs or boards posed the next biggest hazards.

Nearly half of all the guide dog owner respondents also felt they were endangered by badly fenced road works.