CAMPAIGNERS fighting for legislation to control the height of hedges are urging people to write to Darlington MP Alan Milburn to support their cause.

The High Hedges Bill, sponsored by Stephen Pound MP, will have its second reading on March 28 and is seen as a critical stage for the proposed new law. Only if enough MPs attend the reading will a Private Members Bill have a realistic prospect of support.

The proposals are supported by Hedgeline, a group which has campaigned for five years.

Baroness Gardner of Parkes, who is backing the Bill, said: "The aim is for hedges to be of reasonable, not oppressive height.

"It should be possible for them to be trimmed regularly, they should not be the sort of hedges people would choose for a garden of a given size and which they would not consider too bad to impose on a neighbour."