A HEREFORDSHIRE lengthsman and his team were made to feel intimidated by locals, councillors have heard.

The group were subjected to threatening behaviour while they were removing rocks from Welsh Newton Common, causing the work to be delayed, minutes from a recent meeting of Welsh Newton Llanrothal Group Parish Council revealed.

The council apologised to the lengthsman and said that if any similar behaviour occurred, it should be reported to the police.

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While the council did not insist that the lengthsman or his team must continue the work, the crew agreed to carry on with the task despite the unpleasant experience they faced.

Had the lengthsman refused, there would be nobody else to carry out the maintenance needed, the meeting heard.

The rocks were placed on the common earlier this year in an attempt to prevent verge erosion as there had been consistent concerns from locals and parish councillors that something needed to be done about the issue.

The proposed solution to the problem had been on multiple council agendas and faced little to no backlash but, after securing a donation of stones from a local quarry and positioning them along the common, there was a strong negative reaction on social media as the rocks were larger than expected, the minutes revealed.

In light of the reaction an extraordinary council meeting was held, in which it was quickly agreed that the stones should be removed by the lengthsman.

The parish council employs a lengthsman to undertake minor works on the highways and footpaths, identify minor defects and maintenance requirements and, in many instances, repair them with funds allocated by Herefordshire Council.