JUST TWO days after a woman presented a petition calling for the ban of dangerous pesticides, a Waverley Borough Council employee was reportedly seen spraying at the front of her house.

Fiona Scimone handed the petition, which had 2,457 signatures, to the council’s chief executive Tom Horwood on September 10.

But on September 12, Fiona said: “This morning a council employee was spraying glyphosate herbicide on to the front of my house and all the other cottages who front directly on to the public path.

“This is so shocking, particularly in the light of my petition delivered just two days ago.

“I have specifically asked Waverley to stop spraying our houses a number of times over the years – I have an open grill at the front of my house which means that when they spray these poisonous herbicides they enter our house through open windows and directly down into our basement.

“They are not obliged to give any notification or seek consent. Glyphosate is a known carcinogen and linked to many health conditions and children, elderly and pregnant women are particularly susceptible.

“How can they continue to justify spraying residential buildings, play parks and green spaces?”

In response, a spokesman for the borough council said: “The council has been in contact with Fiona on several occasions, including to receive her pesticide petition, which has led to us accelerating discussions with our new grounds maintenance contractor to develop a policy that will look to identify the best solutions to the phasing out of the use of pesticides, wherever possible.

“We have not received a formal complaint from Fiona in relation to this specific claim, but the council can confirm that a planned weed control exercise is carried out by our contractor throughout the borough, on behalf of Surrey County Council, and that spraying should only ever take place on public pavements or highways – and never deliberately or directly on to residential properties.

“We will speak to our contractors and remind them that they are instructed to keep clear of residential properties when carrying out the work.”

During her time as a parish councillor in Frensham, Fiona said a pesticide ban was brought in on all Frensham Parish Council-owned land, with the policy adopted in 2018.

She added: “This was precisely because of the known risks and the need to be mindful of a duty of care to local people and to exercise the precautionary principle as set out in law.”