A 'bitterly contested' row over a picturesque Broads village green is beginning to thaw.

The idyllic scene at the heart of Martham - beside the popular duck pond - was threatened when a resident claimed ownership of part of the green.

Georgina Jago, who lives beside the pond, alleged the title deed of her home – 17 The Green – included a county council adopted road across the green, a lay-by, a stretch of footpath and a section of the village green above a cess pit.

Norfolk County Council and Martham Parish Council attempted to fend off the claim at an HM Land Registry Tribunal, which began at Great Yarmouth Magistrates' Court in November 2012.

But on the second day in court it was adjourned.

When the case resumed today, barristers requested the majority of the day outside the courtroom to thrash out a settlement.

And by late afternoon a partial agreement was reached.

Dr Christopher McNall, for Mrs Jago, said his client is 'no longer asserting any claim to the access way, the lay-by or the footpath'.

For more on this story, see tomorrow's Eastern Daily Press.