GAZETTE & HERALD: The district council has agreed in principle to undertake remedial work on a stretch of subsiding land behind houses in Churchill Close, Calne.

But residents said they will not believe it until the work starts because they have been made the same promise twice before.

The houses have lost between five and ten feet of land from behind their back gardens in the last five years.

The disappearing land belongs to North Wiltshire District Council but the council has not accepted liability for the subsidence.

At the last executive meeting the council agreed to return five metres of gardens and one metre of land on the council side.

They also agreed to a criblocked wall system with landscaping and to replace the lost fences.

Tenders to do the work would be sent out as soon as possible, councillors agreed.

At the next executive meeting on April 1 the overall costs and final plans will be made.

Civic engineers Halcrow, who have been surveying the site, said no more tests were needed and they were able to carry out the work this summer, starting in July.

Mother-of-four Ingrid Symth, who has been fighting the council for more than seven years to get the work done, is sceptical.

"This all sounds really brilliant, but we have been here and got the T-shirt, twice before, so we do feel just a little reluctant to believe anything that we are told anymore," she said.

Mrs Symth added: "We are still disgusted by the way we have been treated and have yet to be told anything officially or have anything in writing.

"Once again we are being forced to just sit here waiting and we still don't know if our houses are safe.