THE chairman of a parish council, whose village was branded “at war” by a national newspaper, has hit back claiming the situation has been “blown out of all proportion”.

David Peart, chairman of St Mary Bourne Parish Council, was shocked after discovering that the village had featured in a Daily Mail article, headlined “Village at war over the ‘speed gun Nazi’”.

The piece, which has been viewed tens of thousands of times online, outlined a clash of attitudes in St Mary Bourne following the creation of a community Speedwatch scheme, which has caught over 3,500 drivers travelling above 30mph in the village since its introduction.

Resident and former parish councillor Michael Widen, who led the parish council scheme, claimed in the article that he had suffered abuse at the hands of angry residents – even going as far as being called a ‘Nazi’ due to his German background.

The article has been rubbished by parish council chairman Mr Peart, who claims there has never been a ‘hate campaign’ against Mr Widen.

He said: “When I spoke to the journalist I didn’t think it would end up like this.

“From talking to local people there have been some remarks but I wouldn’t call them verbal abuse – more like a bit of leg pulling.

“I have certainly never heard Mr Widen being called referred to as a Nazi. I think the whole thing has been blown out of all proportions.”

However, in draft minutes of the parish council’s annual parish assembly, on May 5, an item about the scheme said: “Although most of us have suffered a degree of intimidation in the street, on the roadside and in the pubs for what we are doing, we have carried on regardless.

“However, we feel that the scheme has deteriorated into a ‘them’ and ‘us’ situation and we feel the time has come for our ‘services’ to be suspended for the time being.”

In the article, the Daily Mail claimed that the parish council had ‘dropped the scheme’, something that Mr Peart denies.

He said: “We have temporarily put the scheme on hold while we look for more volunteers.

“We certainly haven’t dropped it because it is a good scheme and we are actively looking to recruit more volunteers to get the thing up and running again. I would encourage anyone who is interested to come forward and give it a try. It’s valuable and if it stops people speeding it could save someone’s life.”

A spokesman for Hampshire Police said the force was “aware of recent reports about community tension within St Mary Bourne, which relate to the Speedwatch scheme”.