"I'D rather go to prison than pay up" says 80-year-old Phyllis Page who's been sent a letter from Two Rivers Housing Association's London solicitors demanding £27.53 for grass cutting.

It's left Phyllis, of Harrison Way, Lydney, scratching her head.

"I'm being charged for 16,945 square metres of grass cutting, but I don't have any grass near me. I cut my own back garden and my front garden is tarmac. I don't have any hedges, just stone walls. Are they charging me to cut my tarmac?

"I know it is not a lot of money," says Phyllis, who bought her home with her son under right to buy back in the 1980s – long before Two Rivers was formed. "But I've decided there's no way I'm going to pay up. I've got no grass, no hedge and any weeds we dig up ourselves. I've spoken to my local councillor and he's advised me not to pay.

"I'm not frightened of them. If I'd got grass out there yes, I'd pay. But

I haven't, so why should I pay for something I haven't got. I'm happy to prison over this."

While that's not likely - the grass cutting charges are a civil claim – Phyllis's response to Two Rivers solicitors, sent by recorded delivery, has just come back. Nothing inside and no response.

Barry Thompson, Two Rivers' Director of Resources said: "As with all freeholders who have received letters from solicitors acting on our behalf, Mrs Page is within her rights to seek legal advice on how she chooses to proceed."

•Meantime, homeowners are questioning the original estimated value of the housing stock transferred from the Forest of Dean District Council and how much it was valued for the loan required from the banks to buy it.