Council chiefs have been branded “totally bonkers” for cutting down 1,000 daffodils in a children’s play park over health and safety fears.
St Blaise Town Council in Cornwall said the iconic springtime flowers can be toxic to children if they eat them.
Workers were dispatched to the park in the town of St Blazey, near St Austell, to chop and pull up over 1,000 daffodils.
The local authority said it will no longer plant new daffodil bulbs for the foreseeable future for the same reason.
Local residents said the decision to carry out the mass daffodil cull was “crazy and bewildering”.
Barry West, who sits on a park committee, said: “Are they going to put signs up saying don’t eat the daffodils next?
“This is totally bonkers. There have always been daffs in the park.
“There must have been about 1,000 flowers. Most of them have now been cut down.
“And to say that it’s because they are toxic to children if they eat them is crazy.
“It was a former orchard and a place where generations of adults and children alike have walked through and enjoyed.
“Having the daffodils there was always a joy in the spring as it was again this year.
“It is uplifting and good for the mental health and well-being of the community, the elderly, the infirm, families, carers and children who enjoy the splash of colour and fragrance.”
St Blaise Town Council clerk Gaynor Mamo said: “After recent play inspection training we were advised not to have daffodils in play areas as all parts of the daffodil can be poisonous.”
