Ref.10615CHILDREN in Langley Burrell are devastated that their swings have been cut down after a mystery man pretending to be from the council demanded that they be removed.

On Friday the bogus caller went to the house of the man who had put up the swings and said if they were not removed in three days he would be taken to court.

The caller said he had papers to enforce the removal of the swings but did not hand them over, according to villager Stephen Ingram. The three swings were taken down that day.

The swings have been fixed to a tree outside Oakhurst for years.

Bewildered father-of-three Mr Ingram said he did not know who could have been pretending to be from the council. He said: "Why would anyone go to those lengths just to get a swing taken down?" he said.

"What are the children supposed to do? On a good day there is 20 of them out there having a whale of a time. That has been spoilt now.

"The children enjoy climbing the tree, playing football on the green and using the swings because it is the only place to play.

There is no playground or any facilities. It is a gathering place for the kids to have fun and we always know where they are."

He originally thought that the swings had been removed after a resident made a complaint to the council.

But a district council spokesman said they had no record of a complaint, the name of the man who had put up the swings or of an officer going to his address at any time.