SIR – Can I ask people to think twice before parking on grass verges.

The grass verge provides a massive range of environmental and social benefits, but they are increasingly under threat in some neighbourhoods because they are used for car parking, caravans and skips.

These grassed lawns are an icon of many of our communities and we neglect them at our peril. We have hundreds of grass verges outside properties, the majority of which are on housing estates.

Scores of these are painstakingly taken care of by local residents, who take a pride in preserving and maintaining them to a high standard. Bradford Council’s clean teams also maintain them on a daily basis.

Many people are not aware that grass verges help to prevent flash flooding, cool temperatures, absorb carbon dioxide and produce oxygen and provide a habitat for birds, animals and insects.

They help to prevent certain allergic reactions by trapping pollen and other triggers into the lawn’s surface.

Parking on a grass verge is illegal under the Highways Act 1980 and doing so could result in prosecution. My message is simple: think twice and park responsibly.

Danny Webb, Neighbourhood Warden, Bradford South