Emily  Sneezedown, 34, is suing Primworthy Council for £1 million for failing to notify the public that Strangleweed Parks and Gardens, close to her bungalow, contained pollen-producing grass and flowers. In a civil action in the High Court, Ms Sneezedown claims that she had recently moved to the area and needed to walk through Strangleweed Park to reach her place of work, and to return home.

“I am a martyr to hayfever,” she told the court, through a barricade of paper tissues, “and I moved into the bungalow in the winter of 2004. The following summer was a nightmare. Grass, trees, flowers – I was surrounded by them. It was terrifying. If I had realised the Gardens contained so many pollen-producing plants, I would never have moved to the area.”

The authority of Mr Justice Broompaddock, presiding, was initially challenged by lawyers for the defence as "potentially biased" on account of his known support for the charity Hayfever Research, of which he is a Vice-President. “I am also a gardener,” he said, showing the court a photograph of his gravel driveway. Primworthy councillors agreed that this was a typical example of local horticulture and did not press further for him to step down.

A spokesman for the Health and Safety Executive, who investigated the case in 2006, said the HSE had found no case to answer. “There is no law compelling local councils to warn residents that their Parks contain plants such as grass,” he said. “To force them to do so would be as silly as warning people that factories contain machinery, or farms contain animals.”