PRIMARY pupils using Nuns Walk in Malmesbury as a path to school are at risk from chicken wire and garden refuse being dumped and burnt there.

The route, which connects St Aldhelm's Church at Cross Hayes to St Joseph's Primary School at Holloway, was recently cleared by volunteers.

They spent a year digging up nettles and brambles so children could travel to church without having to risk busy roads.

But headteacher Kim Parnell said she was worried that the safety of pupils was at risk from the rubbish.

She said: "The chicken wire is very dangerous and we do not feel we can let children safely walk down without checking first."

Children use the path throughout the school day and have started to plant bulbs and flowers along the side of the lane, which the school hopes will be used as a nature reserve in the future.

Landscape gardener Mark Payne said he saw a stockily built man with dark wavy hair using a ladder to scale the 10ft wall that separates Nuns Walk from the gardens above it, belonging to residents at Cross Hayes and Holloway.

It is believed the man lives in one of the houses with an entrance at Cross Hayes, close to the library. But householders in the area have denied knowledge of the problem.

Mr Payne's mother-in-law, school caretaker Janette Griffiths, said the same man had been rude to her when confronted. She said: "We have worked really hard to get the Nuns Walk back and something like this happens, it makes me really angry."

Police said they cannot take any action because it was civil matter, but the fire brigade warned that in the hot weather, fires could spread quickly.

Sub officer in charge of Malmesbury, Pete Newman, said: "With summer here, fires can spread quickly to hedgerows and trees and pose a danger to people close by."

The walk was originally used by nuns who travelled from a convent at the site of the school to church.

It was closed 40 years ago after falling into disrepair, but was reopened on St Joseph's Day this March.

The land is owned by the Bristol Dioceses and there are five private property signs in conspicuous places along the path, one of which has been stolen, said Ms Parnell.

She said the diocese was now considering legal action to stop further tipping. "It is a shame because so much of people's time and effort has gone into the path," she said.

cramos@newswilts.co.uk