A ROW has broken out in a village over a structure dubbed "the great wall of Westgate".

Residents living near the fence, which was erected to replace an old wall demolished for health and safety reasons, are complaining that it is unsightly and unsafe.

Recently, the former dry-stone retaining wall, which had previously been in place to separate a house and a play area, was demolished as it was in bad repair.

Last week, it was replaced with a wire fence and a pile of topsoil, with Wear Valley District Council saying it would struggle to justify the costs of building a replacement wall.

But people living nearby are less than pleased at its appearance, and believe that the wall could potentially be just as dangerous as the one it has replaced.

One resident, Jess Blackburn, said: "It is far from acceptable, as not only has the whole park been churned to a mire, but the fence itself is a shoddy, unsightly mess.

"Not only does it look dreadful, it is also unsafe.

"The piles of soil dumped at one end along with the rest of the bank will be rapidly eroded by water, rabbits, moles, dogs and children.

"There is real potential for harm as children and animals will dig in that soil."

The residents are being supported by local councillor John Shuttleworth, who said that a proposal from Stanhope Parish Council to lease the play area would be in jeopardy due to the state of the fence.

He said: "It's disgraceful and it should be put right."

Council chiefs have promised to meet Mrs Blackburn next week to discuss her concerns and carry out a site visit.

Iain Phillips, chief executive of the council, said that work was continuing.

He said: "The safest thing to do was to bury the wall and do banking.

"At some point, we may make a decision on what we do with the fence - it's not finished."

He added that the job would be completed shortly, with the new area being seeded and the damage caused to the recreation ground repaired.