A fuming mum has slammed the state of her local playground, claiming it is in such disrepair that it's unsafe for her children to play in.
Sara Roberts, who lives in Kingston, has revealed that she values the use of open spaces as her house does not have a garden - and has ultimately been looking for free activities for her family to do due to increased bills and living costs.
However, the mum said her local playground was totally overgrown with grass and littered with rubbish.
The roundabout swing also appeared to be broken and the seats were detached from the chains; something that makes her worry about her daughter's safety.
Speaking about the awful state of the playground, she told MyLondon : "It makes me upset as a mum because I want my daughter to be able to play somewhere safe away from glass shards and dog mess. Playgrounds are important to us because we don't have a garden. It's important for my daughter to socialise with other kids and just be a child in a safe environment."
Ms Roberts continued: "If we don't have playgrounds especially for older children like my daughter, who is 10 years old, there would be nothing to do for them. They're too young to be out on their own and too old for playgroups. We are also on a tight budget so having free things to do is really important to us."
In a separate Facebook post made by Ms Roberts, she complained about the state of the playground saying that she had gone there to have a nice evening with her daughter but couldn't because it there was "dog poo everywhere".
Ms Roberts added: "People pay their council tax and expect the roads, parks, playgrounds and leisure centres to be clean and safe. We shouldn't have to go onto Facebook to complain for people to get in touch."
Kingston Council said it was aware that some parts of the playground were in need of repairs. It added it's not satisfied with how long a third-party supplier is taking to complete them.
A spokesperson for Kingston Council told MyLondon: "We are aware there are items requiring repair or replacements in some of our playgrounds. Inspections, repairs and maintenance had previously been provided by a third-party playground supplier. As we are not satisfied with the time it is taking to action repairs and replacements we are putting in alternative arrangements.
"Our grounds maintenance contractors Glendale will take over this work. Crews will be conducting daily inspections of play equipment and surfaces, and there will be monthly inspections by ROSPA (Royal Society for the Protection of Accidents) trained staff. Our current priority is to replace missing items and repair equipment needing immediate attention. Glendale expect to deliver these works within three to four weeks.
"Council officers recently met with the Blagdon Road recreation ground community group to agree areas in the park where horticulture work is required. We also agreed on one area of the park where grass is to remain long to promote biodiversity."
They added that Glendale will increase the number of rubbish collections in the area and that the council will invest £1.3 million in the borough's parks and playgrounds to improve accessibility.
