LYME councillor Ken Whetlor has accused the county authority of getting hold of the wrong end of the stick. And he says that he's "disappointed and flabbergasted" because its failure to grasp a request from Lyme means that Charmouth Road pedestrians remain in danger.

The town council asked the county authority to create a footpath inside the cemetery to take people into the town by way of King's Way, Anning Road and the river walk, he said at a meeting of the recreations committee on Wednesday.

But the county had rejected the path, promised to have been operational by Christmas, because of the poor visibility from the cemetery entrance onto Charmouth Road.

"It was not our intention to direct people onto Charmouth Road," he said. "There is no footpath there anyway. The county has said it is using compulsory purchase orders to secure land for a footpath down Charmouth Road. But they could be challenged and we could end up extending the long wait for a footpath to 35 years.

"The whole idea of our suggestion was to cut out the need to go onto Charmouth Road at this point. It is going to cost £18,000 at least to create the road pavement."

Mayor Ken Dibben said he couldn't make up his mind whether the proposed compulsory purchase order was on land below or above the cemetery, while Coun Peter Williams pointed out that the question of SSI status had to be considered.

Coun Owen Lovell called for a footpath to take Fairfield Park residents through the cemetery, adding: "I believe the CP orders are in respect of property opposite the cemetery, not below."

The committee recommended further representations to the county council, asking it to reassess the situation and whether it had yet served compulsory purchase orders.