The non-existence of maintenance at a local public park has raised safety concerns.

Residents of Kellysville said the neglected park has become a safety hazard.

They alleged that Thaba Chweu Local Municipality (TCLM) had not been cleaning the park for two years and they now fear that the long grass and overgrown shrubs may be a hideout for criminals and a haven for snakes.

Some of the swings are broken and most need maintenance for them to be operational again.

Elmon Malatji, a community member, said the park was not serving its purpose for the people.

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According to him, its state is not only dangerous to children, but is also a threat to those who reside next to it.

“Our kids are not safe and a park is supposed to be a place in which they can play safely.“We have killed several snakes in that area. On one occasion we saw a snake going into a nearby house and we never managed to find it.

“Some of them are dangerous and we fear they might bite our kids while they play there. These days there is always the risk that criminals might be hiding in the park and innocent children could become part of crime statistics.”

Malatji said the lack of lights and a fence is also a problem.

“It is even worse at night for pedestrians. The kids who still play there can easily run from the park and get hit by a car, since it does not have a fence,” he said.

He added that the community wished that TCLM would start maintaining the park.“If they can clean the park, it will be a safe place for everyone,” he added.

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Themba Sibiya, communications manager of Thaba Chweu said the community service department is responsible for cleaning the park.

He attributed the lack of maintenance to a backlog and that the grass cutting equipment was being repaired.

“This will be eased since grass cutting equipment was donated by one of our service providers, Cigicell, to the value of R50 000. Kellysville Park is one of the areas that has been prioritised.”Sibiya added that the municipality is not aware of any snakes in the park.