Bexley Council has said it has not been told to stop using controversial a weedkiller that has been deemed by a court to “cause cancer”.

The council currently uses Monsanto’s Roundup Weed Killer in its grounds maintenance work, which an American court has recently ruled “causes cancer,” due to its main ingredient glyphosate.

In a landmark case, a man who claimed herbicides containing glyphosate had caused his cancer is to receive $289m (£226m) in damages from the company, which has vowed to appeal the ruling.

Many councils have now come under pressure to scrap its use of the product, although Bexley Council said it has not been instructed to withdraw its use.

A spokeswoman said: “We are governed by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) in terms of which products we can or cannot use. There has been no instruction from the HSE to withdraw the use of Roundup weedkiller.

“In common with many other councils, our grounds maintenance contractor (ISS Landscaping) and our street cleaning contractors (Serco) both use this Glyphosate product.

“In our parks it is applied in droplets as spot-treatment on weeds. The same method is also used when our highways undergo weed spraying four times a year to keep the borough’s pavements and roads weed-free.

“Currently the Roundup product we use (Biactive) biodegrades as soon as it comes into contact with soil/atmosphere and is licensed until the end of June 2020.”

Glyphosate is an ingredient in many weedkillers, although the science about its safety is not conclusive.

Last week, a jury determined that Monsanto’s Roundup weedkiller caused the 46-year-old man’s cancer and that the corporation failed to warn him of the health hazards from exposure.

Some countries – such as Portugal and Italy – have banned glyphosate use in parks and gardens.

Monsanto insists glyphosate is safe and plans to appeal the US jury’s ruling.

A statement on Monsanto’s website said “more than 800 scientific studies and reviews” had proved glyphosate does not cause cancer.

The UK Government said in a statement decisions based on the use of pesticides should be made on “the best available science.”