A MUM is battling a housing association which threatened to take away a children’s swing set she paid for, because of health and safety fears.

Laura Berry and her neighbour Theresa Williams bought a swing set and picnic bench for a grassy area outside their block of flats last week.

But Miss Berry said Cottsway Housing Association, which owns the block of 11 flats in Churchill Close, Woodstock, told them to take it away, or it would be removed.

The 27-year-old, who lives with her four young daughters on the ground floor, bought the equipment for them and other children in the neighbourhood.

She said: “All the kids love the swings, Cottsway are just being petty.

“If they take it away, I will ring the police because it’s not their property.”

The full-time mum and her neighbour spent £90 on the play equipment after Cottsway concreted over an old grassy area behind the block which children used to play on.

In February last year, that area was contaminated with sewage from a drain which Cottsway fixed, but then laid concrete and paving slabs on top. The housing association has now planted a new grass area in front of the flats but put a notice up saying residents cannot put swings or play equipment on it.

Miss Berry said Cottsway had told residents that if children want to play on swings and other equipment, it has to be set up on top of the slabs, which she said was dangerous for children because of the hard surface.

She said: “They said they were going to sort the sewage problem out and grass it but instead they just slabbed it.

“That’s fine, but they then made a grass area out the front and said the kids can’t play out there.

“They are saying we’ve got to remove everything from the grass because the children can’t play on a communal area, but I’m not going to put swings up on concrete.”

Miss Berry has lived in the flat for seven years and shares it with Leah, eight, Hailey, seven, Kaiya, five, and two-year-old Lillie-Grace.

Cottsway Housing said it could not allow residents to put their own play equipment up without first checking it was safe.

Spokeswoman Dee Hempstead said: “We do not give residents permission for permanent items to be installed on our communal areas without first ensuring that adequate health and safety precautions and insurance are in place.

“We have recently been advised by residents that some children’s play equipment has been positioned on the grassed area and our housing officer will be visiting to try to reach an acceptable solution.”