A concerned passer-by has voiced her fears about dangerous work being carried out on a narrow stretch of footpath while children were on their way to school.

A workman was using what appeared to be a chainsaw along the Alban Way shortly at around 8.45am Wednesday as young pupils were heading to Fleetville Junior School. The passer-by said: “There were no cones, no signs and no fencing. When I raised it with him he just shrugged his shoulders.”

She was walking along the Alban Way from the Sutton Road end and said there had been a second man there but he appeared only to be holding a broom. But she admitted he might have been warning parents and young children approaching from the opposite direction.

The work was being carried out by the district council’s contractors, John O’Conner. Managing director Matt O’Conner, said they had investigated and could confirm that two experienced and fully-trained operatives were carrying out maintenance work to cut back bushes along the side of the Alban Way on Wednesday.

Explaining that one man was using a hedge cutter while the other stood alongside to warn passers-by about the work and ensure they did not approach, he said that the blades of the hedge cutters stopped immediately once the had-held trigger was released.

He added: “We are sorry that the member of public was not satisfied with the method of working and will review our procedures to ensure health and safety of the public remains a top priority for us.”