THERE are some sorry sights around this city and the county.

When we appealed for our readers to ring in with the messes blighting their neighbourhood, we knew there would be a healthy response.

But it is also disheartening to see the state some properties have been left in. Can it really be fun living with this, or owning a property and having your tenants faced with such muck?

Where is the pride?

At least there are still some people like Ron Holden, who we report today has been clearing up litter around his East Oxford street twice a week for 15 years.

“It’s almost as though people are getting used to seeing it like this,” Ron laments.

Sadly, that may be true.

For all the talk of city council crackdowns, the truth is that its effectiveness will always be limited. And do we really want to live in such a nanny state where it is down to the city council to police householders over the state of their lawn?

No. It surely must be self-policed by nothing more complex than a bit of human pride.

So today we call on everyone whose gardens could be construed as an eyesore to decide if they really want that mess to show the world what sort of person they are.