A HEDGE laying champion is calling for contractors to be given more guidance after parts of a newly laid hedge were destroyed by over-zealous cutting.

Gareth Evans had laid the hedge near the Withybush Industrial Estate for a local dairy farmer using the black and quick technique. He says the hedge has now been cut so severely that parts of it will never regrow.

“It has been cut in a very heavy handed way, the bark has been stripped and branches and twigs have been broken off,’’ says 75-year-old Mr Evans, a retired farmer who now lives in Solva.

“I think what has been done is terrible, there should be someone with an understanding of hedge laying doing the job.''

The hedge is near a busy road junction and, although Mr Evans understands the need to cut it to improve visibility, he suggests the verge is so wide that only a gentle trim was needed.

“There was absolutely no need to take it back so far, it is nothing short of vandalism really. This was young growth and some of it has been broken and won’t grow back again.

“It shows a complete lack of understanding of what hedge laying is and the time needed to a hedge to regrow.’’

Mr Evans says had the hedge been trimmed lightly it would have regenerated and thickened.

He doesn’t directly blame the contractor; he says responsibility lies with the Highways Authority which awards hedge cutting contracts.

"I have been an active farmer and am very concerned about conservation and the dying art of hedge laying. The authorities who have responsibility for cutting hedges need to have a better understanding of this process and should brief their contractors accordingly.''

Mr Evans learned as a young boy to lay hedges and has nurtured it as a lifelong interest. At the All Wales Ploughing Championships in 2014 he was named champion in the Pembrokeshire and Glamorgan-style hedge laying competition.

A Welsh Government spokesman said that hedges along trunk roads are mostly cut because they are obscuring forward visibility or visibility at junctions and causing a potential hazard to road users.

“We have not received a complaint on this issue so do not have access to all the details surrounding it, however we would be very happy to meet the complainant to discuss his concerns.’’