A frustrated North Walsham resident has hit out at Norfolk County Council for spending £35,000 rebuilding 'perfectly all right' pavements when some areas of the town have none at all.

Eastern Daily Press: The route into North Walsham, along Aylsham Road, from Howlett Close.The route into North Walsham, along Aylsham Road, from Howlett Close.

John Allen, 75, could not believe his eyes when workmen started digging up the pavement near his Buxton Road home.

Mr Allen, whose own nearby bungalow is one of seven Buxton Road properties without any pavement, believes the work is a waste of time and money.

'They're ripping up the kerb and pavement even though they're perfectly all right. They're spending all that money on a pavement which isn't used and doesn't need doing,' he said.

Mr Allen claimed that children making their way to nearby Millfield Primary School used the pavement on the other side of Buxton Road.

'We've never had any kerb or pavement outside ours, but I'm not the biggest priority - what about Aylsham Road? It's very narrow and there's no pavement at all. People have to walk a long way down it to get to town from where they live. There are lorries and buses going up and down it all the time. That's far more important - it's dangerous.

But a county council spokesman said the work near Mr Allen's home was part of a larger four-week project to completely reconstruct the pavement and kerbs along sections of Buxton Road, South Rise and Recreation Road, which was a route used by many people walking to and from Millfield School.

'We need to do this work due to the poor state of repair of the pavement and kerbs which have become uneven and at risk of crumbling,' she said.

'Some years ago the need for a pavement along a section of Aylsham Road from the new Howlett Close development was raised.

'Due to the narrow width of the road a one-way system was proposed to enable a pavement to be put in. However, when consulted, local residents objected to the one-way system plan.'