A FIRST-TIME mother says she felt “angry and in pain” after having to lift her child’s buggy over large piles of branches to get through a blocked alleyway.

Jasmine Rawlins, 23, who lives in Fairfield Road, Clacton, gave birth to her baby boy, Noah, in March, via an emergency caesarean.

Miss Rawlins’ newborn was booked in for a vaccination appointment at the nearby Ranworth Surgery, in Pier Avenue.

In a bid to not be late, she decided to cut through a public alleyway located at the bottom of Crossfield Road but was stopped in her tracks.

Faced with two unsightly heaps of entangled branches, the young mum had to clamber over them with her baby and buggy to be able to pass through.

“It is stressful enough, especially in these times, being a new mum, without rubbish like this just adding to the stress,” she said.

“The alleyway is the quickest route to the surgery, but I had to physically lift my buggy, with my baby in, it over these piles of branches.

“My buggy is quite heavy and obviously lifting heavy things after not long being cut open was painful so I felt angry and agitated.

“I couldn’t afford to miss or be late for my son’s appointment because they are very hard to get nowadays with the coronavirus situation.

“I felt angry to see it there and it is just pure selfishness and laziness.

“I am just thankful I haven’t heard of a disabled or elderly person on a scooter going down that alley, especially in the dark, because it is dangerous.”

According to Essex Highways, the branches had overgrown from a neighbouring wall before the property owner, or someone else, cut or pulled them off.

The authority says it is, therefore, the responsibility of the property owner to ensure the branches are removed.

An Essex Highways spokesperson said: “Whoever did this has not cleared the growth away, resulting in it being effectively fly-tipped on the public footway.

“The material belongs to and comes from the property of the resident and therefore they have a duty to clear it up.”

However, Tendring Council has now said it has sent someone to clear the pathway on behalf of Essex County Council.