A public path in Welwyn Garden City was fenced off, had red tape put across and a sign claiming to be private land installed on it.
This is the result of 'confusion of legal status' according to Hertfordshire County Council.
The alleyway which provided access to Moneyhole Park from Stirling Way in was blocked with a sign stating that it was not a public path.
The sign stapled to a tree read 'This private alleyway is the property of Bovis Homes Ltd. It's purpose is for rear access for resident's properties only'.
It appears the fence was erected by the residents as the sign also included a quote from Bovis Home Ltd which said: "'We have no interest in the land and if you want to put up a fence, as it is our land and private land with no right of way, we would not object."
However a spokesperson for Hertfordshire County Council said: “There has been some confusion over the legal status of this path, but we have established that the public do have a right to use it. We expect that the fence currently blocking access will be removed in the near future.”
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