By RUTH LOGNONNE

Published at 09:49, Friday, 06 November 2009

A “DAD’S Army” of pensioners in Wark could run the risk of being prosecuted for tidying up their village.

The community conscious 60-80 year olds, many of whom have lived in the village all their lives, want to paint the dilapidated Wark Bridge – at no cost to Northumberland County Council.

But red tape means that if the pensioners go ahead with their plan, they could contravene health and safety laws.

And, because rare freshwater pearl mussels breed under the bridge, any attempt to scrape off the existing lead paint could contaminate the water – and result in the men being prosecuted.

One local resident said: “If we do paint the bridge, what’s the council going to do, throw us in jail? It’s crazy. All we want to do is tidy up our bridge because it’s falling to bits.

“We’re not bothered about insuring ourselves for injuries – most of us are too old to care!”

Fed up with waiting for Northumberland County Council to step in and tidy up the bridge the men united over a pint in the Grey Bull and set to work clearing the weeds from the structure.

Armed with spades, shovels and wheelbarrows they shovelled away the grass that smothered the rickety metal bridge and started to research suitable lead free paints to repaint it.

And when the county council thwarted their attempts to start painting, they turned their attention to other jobs in the village.

Meeting once a week, the handymen have tidied footpaths, planted thousands of bulbs and installed a brand new footbridge over the Warksburn.

“People passing by stop and tell us to keep up the good work,” said one of the men.

“Some of the villagers call us Dad’s Army, but we prefer Wark with Pride!”

The group, has now grown from its original 10 members to 18, and has attracted support from local firms, as well as donations from Wark Fishing Club, Wark Leek Club and over 1,000 spring bulbs from local residents Joyce Palmer and her sister, Doreen.

North Tyne county councillor, Edward Heslop, said the men were an inspiration, adding: “These men are a marvellous example of the community spirit that, in fairness, used to exist.

“Many were former builders, plumbers and fitters, which proves that if there’s a job to be done, then there’s always someone who can turn their hand to it.”

A spokesman for Northumberland County Council said: “We applaud the efforts of this active community group, which is making a significant difference to the environmental quality of Wark.

“We are aware that they wished to look at carrying out some painting on the bridge, and indeed local councillor Edward Heslop and executive member for highways councillor Alan Armstrong met them along with our staff on site.

“We regrettably had to advise them that such work on the bridge must be carried out by suitably qualified and equipped staff due to the obvious health and safety risks involved.

“In addition we did advise that there are pearl mussels in the river under the bridge, and fairly recent investigation has shown that the colony of this protected species is well established there.

“If painting work were carried out on the bridge we would need to use scaffolding with a suitable encapsulation to ensure that the colony is not harmed.

“We can’t advise the group on their legal rights, but such action would be contrary to health and safety legislation and could endanger a protected species.”

Published by http://www.hexhamcourant.co.uk