Cycle paths alongside a major route into Oxford have verges so overgrown they are dangerous and are at odds with the need to promote sustainable travel, a cyclist has claimed.

Danny Kavanagh, from Yarnton, regularly takes his four-year-old daughter Freya – who has just started to ride a bike – along the tracks beside the A44 from Woodstock to Oxford.

They also cycle to Woodstock for gymnastics.

He said: “The verges are way too overgrown to the point of being unsafe. The grass is taller than my four-year-old girl.

“She has almost been hit by a bike trying to squeeze past as the grass is so long so now we have to pull in on to the grass as you can no longer get two bikes along the cycle track.

“After we did that she and myself came out in a rash from the grass.”

He added: “There have been others reporting this and and they say how runners have to jump into the grass to avoid cyclists. It's awful!”

Mr Kavanagh said the verges are overgrown on both sides of the cycle track from Woodstock right the way to the Wolvercote Roundabout.

He said that after he reported the issue on the Fix my Street website, the county council responded that it “will carry out one general cut a year across the whole of the county's road network”.

Oxford Mail: Overgrown cycle paths along the A44 near Yarnton. Pictures by Danny Kavanagh

It added: “At present, we are unable to give exact dates for individual areas, as this year’s program is currently being assembled, however, we are dealing with visibility splay sites in accordance with safety requirements of individual sites as they are reported to us (or observed by Highway Officers).”

Mr Kavanagh said: “This is a complete disgrace and we really need some help. I thought that we were supposed to be promoting healthy living and access for cycling.

“The excuse that we’ve had a lot of rain and sun, for me isn’t good enough. We have that every year. You can see by the height of the sign, how high the grass is.

"My daughter is four and it’s way above her.”

A spokesman for the county council said: “Oxfordshire County Council will typically cut the grass verges around the county’s road networks once a year. However, the recent weather conditions have increased the growth of vegetation across the county and so we are in the process of monitoring progress of this year’s programme and will deal with any safety-related growth at the earliest appropriate time.”

He added: "The area in question is due to be mown in the week commencing 2 August."