VILLAGERS who were told they must remove flowers they planted on an ancient green believe they have found a solution to the row.

The group, which calls itself the Norton Nine, have won the support of an MP who says she has also planted flowers on her local green.

The residents received letters from Stockton Borough Council telling them to remove flowers from Norton Green, at Norton, near Stockton.

The letter said that plant- ing flowers on the edge of the green contravened a parliamentary act dating back to 1876.

However, the villagers believe they can bypass that law by applying for licences from the Department for Transport - called 142 licences.

Dari Taylor, MP for Stockton South, who owns a house in Thornaby, also near Stockton, said she too had planted flowers on the green there.

She said: "We don't all know about these ancient laws and people just want to make their area look nice."

Norton resident Trevor Davison said he and the other eight villagers of Norton who received letters from the council had been inundated with messages of support since The Northern Echo first reported the story.

He said: "I can't walk down the High Street without people saying they support us. Every time I'm in the garden car drivers pip their horns."

A council spokesman said it was not clear that the Department of Transport licences would give the villagers the right to plant on the verge of their village green.

He said: "The 142 licences of the 1980 Highways Act relates specifically to highways only.

"We deal with each situation depending on its own particular circumstances.

"The council is not aware of planting on any other village greens in the borough and would need to investigate further before we could comment."