A DECISION by people in Oakley to block off a footpath that has been open for more than 40 years has been met with dismay.

Residents of Lyde Close took the decision following a spate of vandalism, drug-taking and dog-fouling on the footpath.

Nearby residents use the alleyway, which runs behind the back gardens of people in Lyde Close, as a route to local shops and schools.

Alex Mills, aged 17, lives in Hoopers Way, which joined the alleyway before it was blocked off. He said: “It makes it so much longer to get to the shops. It used to take a minute, now it takes ten.

“It has also upset the elderly people here, who now have to walk all the way round. It’s sad that it’s come to this.”

People in Lyde Close blocked the alleyway by placing fences at each end as well as several in between.

At Oakley and Deane Parish Council on June 9, a resident of Lyde Close defended the decision.

The resident, who asked not to be named, said: “I’m one of the people who closed it and have lived there for 27 years.

“On the first day I moved in, I had potatoes thrown in my garden and since then I’ve had people trying to climb over my back fence, people picking fruit from my trees and recently a boy stood in the alley smoking cannabis from a bong.

“The list is endless, we’ve asked for help from the police and all they say is ‘we’d like to close all the alleys in the area’.”

The alleyway was created in 1966 as part of a network of paths that criss-cross the estate. After consulting solicitors, the Lyde Close residents decided they could legally close the path as they hold ownership of it under their house deeds and it was closed at the beginning of June.

Oakley and Deane Parish Council will decide at its meeting today whether to apply for the path to be established as a public right of way, a process which could take up to five years.