Moment OAP is arrested after she was ‘caught pulling up grass on strip of land’ at centre of village planning row

THIS is the moment a pensioner embroiled in bitter planning row was arrested - for allegedly digging up the grass.

Valerie Vivian was led away by police just months after laying a 150ft driveway without permission on a jointly-owned communal green.

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The 70-year-old caused fury among locals when she laid the gravel path on top of the grass earlier this year - ignoring pleas from horrified locals for her to stop.

Mrs Vivian, who is a tenant, wants to build houses on the land behind the property she rents and was trying to build a track leading to the plot.

Two months after the 10ft-wide path was laid, the residents were ordered by Bath and North East Somerset to repair the damage done by their neighbour.

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They were given until October 25 to get the plot back to its original state.

Days before the deadline, a group of residents from Miller Walk - where houses cost around £1 million - disposed of the gravel and laid new grass seed in its place.

But on Saturday afternoon, determined Mrs Vivian was spotted apparently taking matters into her own hands once again.

A Miller Walk resident, who asked not to be named, said that his neighbour "saw the Vivian woman lying on the grass, fiddling".

She was arrested on suspicion of theft at around 3pm on Saturday near her home, along with a man in his 30s who was with her.

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Neighbours, who are mostly over 65, called police after spotting her allegedly removing earth from the strip of common land at 2pm.

Earlier this month it was reported Mrs Vivian has applied six times since 1997 to build houses on land behind the cul-de-sac.

One weekend in July she tore up the green, which is owned jointly by nine homeowners, and started laying a 10ft wide path to the land.

Neighbours called police but officers threatened to arrest anyone who tried to stop her.

Bath and North East Somerset council were then said to have told the homeowners to repair the damage she caused.

Terry Gazzard, 72, said residents had pleaded with Mrs Vivian and her family to stop the work.

He told : "The police turned up and one of them threatened to arrest us for objecting to the damage. This allowed the family to complete the damage before the council returned to work on Monday."

He added: "We have asked Mrs Vivian to repair the damage her family caused but had no reply."

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Philip Clissold, 81, who has lived in the cul-de-sac for 20 years, said: "Because we own the land we are ultimately responsible. We want it back like it was. And she should pay for it."

The 22ft-wide communal green linking Miller Walk to the privately-owned field that Mrs Vivian wants to develop is jointly owned by nine homeowners in the close.

The nine households each pay £150 a year towards the lawn's upkeep but Mrs Vivian rents her property so does not put money in the pot and has no rights to the land.

Avon and Somerset Constabulary confirmed that a woman in her 70s was arrested on Saturday at around 3pm.

They said: "We arrested a woman in her seventies on suspicion of theft and a man in his thirties on suspicion of theft and criminal damage to a path on Miller Walk, Bathampton, on Saturday.

"Both have been released on police bail pending further enquiries."

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