By Conor Sharkey

A local pensioner has called on Strabane Council to clean up the local river banks before someone is seriously injured.

The 75-year-old makes the journey along the river side path at Meetinghouse Street to visit his wife's grave twice a week.

And while for the most part, the walk is a peaceful and picturesque one, the recent mix of sunshine and rain has seen a mass of weeds accumulate. The problem has become so bad that the pensioner believes it is only matter of time before a youngster tumbles unwittingly into the weed growth and into the Mourne.

In a bid to avert such an incident, the elderly gentleman contacted the Strabane Chronicle earlier this week to say: "The weeds have got out of control up here and I've never seen a single council person up here. I remember a few years ago the tarmac started to split along this path and Councillor Ivan Barr did come up and get things sorted.

"But I've seen no one else since and looking at the weeds, if a child went in there, they would be in the river and with the strong current, they might never get out.

"When this walkway was first opened, it was lovely with mothers and their children up enjoying it but you couldn't bring a child up here now.

"I don't know exactly who is responsible for the upkeep but I would like someone to take a look at it," he said.

Responding to the concerns, Strabane District Council's Technical Services chief Malcolm Scott said that the upkeep of the Meetinghouse Street river side walk was currently being transferred from the Housing Executive to the Council.

"If the weeds begin to encroach on the public path, then Council employees would be drafted in to deal with the problem. However due to the steepness of the bank, it would not be feasible to deal with the weeds right down to the Mourne.

It is, Mr Scott added, "simply a natural river side walk".