HIGH hedges should be cut down to size, according to the Vale's MP, who has renewed a call for the Government to act on the problem.

Peter Luff claimed intolerable strain caused by the problem led to disputes over high boundary hedges and that constituents had contacted him to urge the Government to do something about it.

"The Government said, exactly a year ago, that it would do something," he said.

"On August 11, 2000, Environment Minister Michael Meacher promised to give local councillors powers to control high hedges but nothing happened.

"In the absence of action from the Government, the Conservative MP for Solihull, John Taylor, introduced a Private Members' Bill but opposition to the details of the Bill led to it failing on April 27 this year." Mr Luff said that at the time the Bill was being debated, Labour MPs had expressed concerns about its provisions.

He quoted Maria Eagle, now a Labour Minister, who said during the debate that such a Bill could be abused by people it was not intended to help.

Mr Luff said: "The Government must now introduce a Bill of its own and not rely on Conservative MPs to do what it should do itself.

"Labour and Conservative backbench MPs may have concerns about the details but we all want something done.

"A year on, the promise should be kept. The Government has the power to sort this out." Leylandii, which can grow as high as 30ms, are frequently used to mark boundaries between properties and as windbreaks.