Who owns this strip of land? That’s the question Tracey Collier has been wanting an answer to for the last three years.

Despite her own investigation the mum-of-one has drawn a blank as to who is responsible for maintaining the area that lies between the rear of her garden fence.

She lives in Agate Court, Sonora Fields, and the metal railings alongside the railway line.

Since moving in to the three- bed end-of-terrace in 2006 the undergrowth has continued to grow and at times the brambles and nettles have towered over the top of her fence and even grown beneath and through it.

Some areas currently stand at 8ft. The 52-year-old said: “My fence is 6ft and it’s growing over the top of that.

“It was so bad that last year my son got out there with an industrial strimmer and blitzed a path behind my fence, but it’s growing back again. I don’t see why I should have to maintain it when I don’t own it.

“We were told the strip of land is a public right of way which leads out to the Onyx Drive area. People can access it via a pathway that runs down the side of my property.

“They do send someone out to cut the grass along there, which stops near the bottom of my garden.

“Over the last three years I’ve spoken to Swale council and asked them to do a search, but it came up as inconclusive.

“I’ve been in contact with the housing developer Redrow and they said it’s not them.

“I called Network Rail and they sent a man out with plans in his hand and he said it doesn’t belong to them.

“[Former Conservative] councillor Gareth Randall tried to find out and I told county councillor Mike Baldock [Ukip] about it, but nothing came of it.

“I just want someone to get to get the bottom of it.”

A spokesman for Redrow said: “We are searching our records and public resources to work out who owns this land and is responsible for it.

“This may take some time, but we hope that we will come to a satisfactory answer.”

Meads ward councillor James Hunt (Con) is looking into the matter.

He said: “With Agate Court, half of the area is adopted and half isn’t and I believe that area is still in the hands of the developer.

“It’s next to a footpath, which would normally be adopted by Kent County Council, so we need to check if that area of land will be adopted as well.

“If it’s not in the agreement the developer sometimes holds on to little plots and it transfers them to a management company, but if there isn’t one then it would fall back tothe developer to maintain.

“I will carry on chasing KCC and the developer to get the adoption done.”

Swale council says it does not own the land in question, while KCC has only claimed ownership of the footpath down the side of the growth.