RESIDENTS of a North-East village were toasting the power of flowers yesterday after winning the right to grow plants outside their homes.

Officials invoked a 19th Century law that meant eight neighbours were not allowed to grow plants on the edge of the green at Norton, near Stockton.

But after The Northern Echo reported the story and the Local Government Ombudsman was called in, officials at Stockton Borough Council changed their minds.

Each of the residents of Ragworth Place, close to the 1,000-year-old green, have received a letter from Julie Butcher, principal solicitor at the council.

It said: "Having received the informal, initial thoughts of the Local Government Ombudsman, the local authority welcomes their stance and agrees that the planting at Ragworth Place can be distinguished from that of the Green.

"The local authority will therefore not be taking action to remove the planting immediately adjacent to those properties at Ragworth Place."

One of the neighbours, David Tarn, a professional photographer, said: "We are actually around the corner from the main green, so the whole thing was ridiculous from the start.

"The flowers were there for many years - and they sent a letter to one man who didn't even have a single bit of grass outside his door.

"However, they did manage to frighten one lady into digging up her flowers."

One man's separate battle with the council over planting on a verge of the green will continue.

Trevor Davidson, who lives on the green, planted flowers and small rockery on a piece of land outside his home, which is not part of the main body of the green.

He said: "There is real, serious erosion to the green caused by people parking all over the place. Yet, I have had all this over a few flowers."

A spokesman for the council said: "We have looked very carefully at the issue of planting in front of Ragworth Place in order to find a reasonable solution and hopefully that's what we've done.

"However we will not be allowing any further encroachment."

A spokesman for the Ombudsman said the matter was still being investigated.