Villagers dug a trench in which to place a memorial bench for Diana, Princess of Wales - and returned after a tea break to find council workers had filled it in.

The diggers, members of Dalton Parish Council, near Thirsk, spent hours digging a shallow, 12ft by 6ft hole to make way for the memorial seat.

However, they found their work wasted when they returned from a 20-minute break to find park staff from North Yorkshire County Council had filled in the hole.

Terry Harper, treasurer of Dalton Parish Council, said: "They were certainly quick off the mark.

"If they are going around looking for jobs to do, I can think of a few."

Mr Harper said they had checked with utility companies before digging the hole, but had not notified the county council.

A county council spokesman said a licence was needed for excavations in roads, paths and verges.

He said: "When our engineers noticed a large hole in the grass verge we regarded it as presenting a danger to the public because we had not been notified.

"We need to be notified in order to safeguard against accidental damage to one of the many public utilities which are stored underground."

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