A 19th Century law is being invoked in a row about flowers on a 1,000-year-old village green.

Officials say they have received complaints about villagers cultivating plants near their homes on the edge of the green at Norton, near Stockton.

Stockton Borough Council says it will use a House of Commons Act passed in 1876 to force residents to remove the plants.

But some Norton residents say the council is overstepping the mark.

One villager, who declined to be named, said: "The council may be going by the letter of the law but they've lost all common sense.

"Villages in the Darlington, Sedgefield and Redcar and Cleveland areas are actually given flowers by their councils for Britain in Bloom but we're stuck with this intolerant pedantry."

Bob Harbron, chairman of Norton Heritage, said the group opposed any encroachment on the main area of the green but said the council should leave people alone to make the perimeter more attractive.

A council spokesman said: The council is concerned with the preservation of Norton green and had received some complaints from residents that plants and pots had been placed there and that they felt it was spoiling the area.

"The council has written to residents to ascertain who has planted and who owns the plants as the council will be taking action to remove the plants in order to prevent any encroachment on the green. This is in accordance with the Commons Act of 1876."

The green has an ancient history. It was still church property in 1500, and villagers were allowed to graze sheep, goats and "any animal except pigs" on the green until the end of the 19th Century. It has been council-owned since 1922.