A NORTH Yorkshire villager who resorted to direct action to stop her neighbours building a new fence has reached a compromise with them.

Equipped with a fold-away chair, rain hat, umbrella and cordless telephone, Margaret Phillips, of Trout Pond Farm, at Acklam, near Leavening, braved the rain and staged a "sitting protest" in the way of contractors putting up the fence. Despite the bad weather, Mrs Phillips vowed to "sit there until something is resolved."

But by mid-afternoon, John Wilkes, of Lake View, the neighbour responsible for employing the contractors, had returned home and resolved the matter.

"I was a little puzzled by it all," said Mr Wilkes.

"I have sorted it all out. The neighbours had not spoken to us about the fence," he added.

Mrs Phillips said she and her husband, Graham, did not mind their neighbours constructing a fence, but they objected to the length and height of the fence being put in place. She also said they operate a commercial fishing business on the property and thought the fence could have obstructed their view of the lakes, which, Mrs Phillips said, was a "safety and security" issue.

Initially, the fence was going to be 6ft 6ins high. Mr Wilkes has agreed that some of the panels used will be shorter so as not to affect the view from his neighbour's property.