RENFREWSHIRE Council is under fire for sending a “threatening” letter to residents, demanding they cut back vegetation on land that does not belong to them.

The letter was sent to people living at the Weavers Avenue end of Green Road, Paisley, and asked them to trim back trees and bushes on “their land.”

The land in question – which had been outlined in red on a map – was actually on the opposite side of Green Road, close to the entrance to the cycle track.

Councillor Eileen McCartin said it caused residents “grief and anxiety,” especially as it turned out not to be their responsibility.

“In recent weeks, residents around the Green Road area have been subject to very threatening letters from the council, demanding they cut back vegetation on trees and bushes which, according to the council, belonged to them,” added Councillor McCartin, who represents Paisley Southwest.

“When I was contacted by some residents, I immediately raised the matter with the chief executive to try to establish whether or not the ownership and responsibility lay with the residents.

“This has now been proven not to be true and this will come as a great relief to the residents.

“However, this should never have arisen and I would hope that the council takes steps to ensure this never happens again.”

Council chiefs have since sent another letter to residents, apologising for the mistake and asking them to ignore the initial correspondence.

A council spokesman said: “We initially contacted residents of homes in the estates off Green Road to advise them the land in question was their responsibility, based on the information received about ownership.

“However, it was subsequently established this information was incorrect.

“We have now offered our sincere apologies to the residents concerned for this error and are putting new procedures in place to prevent this from happening again.

“Enquiries remain ongoing to establish the actual ownership of the area in question.”