PLANS to light a beacon on Chiddingfold village green by local supporters of the Countryside Alliance were thwarted at the last minute on Monday evening when the parish council stepped in and put a stop to it.

Chiddingfold campaigners for the Liberty and Livelihood march this Sunday had planned to set fire to the two bales of straw hanging from a 30 ft. tripod, as part of the national chain of beacons which were lit across the country.

Alerted to the proposed lighting of the beacon by a nearby resident, the chairman of Chiddingfold parish council Graham Ball immediately called a halt with just minutes to go before the planned 7-30 pm lighting.

ÒPeople who want to use the village green, which is leased to the parish council from Waverley, have to ask permission, ensure that any event is properly run and take responsibility for the health and safety,Ó said Mr Ball. The police and ambulance services he said also had to be informed.

ÒWhen I saw the tripod and bales the weekend before, I had assumed that it was part of the Chiddingfold Bonfire Committee arrangements for the annual building of the bonfire but it was not.Ó

Mr Ball said that he received a call around 7 pm on the evening of the proposed lighting and was also very concerned about the political implications of using the village green to highlight the march.

ÒI double-checked that we hadnÕt given permission,Ó said Mr Ball who phoned the organisers to tell them the lighting could not go ahead.

Diana Clark from Woodside Road told the Herald that she had alerted the parish council to the beacon on Monday evening.

ÒI was very unpleasantly surprised to see it and felt the village green was being used for political end. They had no right to consider lighting a beacon for that,Ó she declared.

And her neighbour Sheila Ragg said she was Òagainst using the village greenÓ for such events.

ÒPeople can advertise what they like on their own houses,Ó said Mrs Ragg.

The villager who was asked to erect the beacon, but who did not want to be named, defended his actions.

ÒHunting is just the straw that broke the camelsÕ back; this march is not just about hunting, its about how whole village is suffering because of a loss of facilities.Ó