A derelict house leaning into a busy Wiltshire A-road has sparked safety fears among residents and motorists.

Another fence was erected around the house and part of the building on the A3102 Hunts Mill Road was demolished to stop it from collapsing into traffic on March 27.

People living on the route between Lyneham and Royal Wootton Bassett said Wiltshire Council had told them it was not an immediate risk until the authority was contacted by the Wiltshire Gazette and Herald.

A resident who wished to remain anonymous said that although it was less likely to fall into the road it was now more likely to collapse completely after the council’s work.

The council argued it is now safe and that it is monitoring the situation and will contact the owner for further work if needed. 

The resident said: “They’ve had a piece of machinery go out and push the roof through it on one half. So now they’ve left the building which has had the roof completely caved in on one half actually leaving the building looking worse overall.

“Why they didn’t just push it over to make sure it was completely safe I’ve got no idea whatsoever.”

The resident said they originally texted a surveyor from the council’s building control office to say: “Over the last few days I’ve seen that the entire front of the building is leaning further and further forward.

“The leaning wall is less than five feet from the main road and therefore if it does collapse while somebody is driving past, it will definitely hit their vehicle.”

The council officer replied: “I’ve checked the surveyor's notes and he is consulting regarding the structural failure, but he has not indicated it is of immediate danger.

“It is an open case for us so we will be monitoring and trying to establish ownership.”

The resident wrote back: “Okay. That’s fine but you can literally see the roof has completely collapsed in the last 24 hours and the window is now being propped up by the fence.”

In response the officer wrote: “Thank you. I have reviewed the photos with colleagues and it is not considered immediately dangerous due to the distance between the wall and the road. It is still a concern and we will be taking action as above.”