PARISH councillors in Chapmanslade have asked Wiltshire Council to investigate the damage being done to a Grade 2 listed farm.

Thoulstone Farm near the junction of the A36 and the A3098 has recently changed hands following the death of Chris Welch, the previous owner, in February last year.

But local councillors say that builders working for the new owner - whose name is not yet known - have damaged important parts of the farm, including Thoulstone Barn, which stands on staddle stones.

Part of a brick wall around a walled garden has also been demolished to make an entrance.

Parish Councillor Phil Jefferson said: “A delightful traditional barn standing on staddle stones clearly has been hit by a vehicle and is now in a terrible state.

“A section of wall around a walled garden has been irresponsibly - and illegally - razed to the ground.

“This is all most distressing and I have asked Wiltshire Council, which has a statutory duty to protected buildings, to investigate as a matter of urgency before any further damage is done to this important part of our parish heritage.”

The owner's agent, Ian Hodder, of Blockworks Group in Worcester, has recently applied to Wiltshire Council for planning approval to build two single storey extensions to the 17th century Thoulstone Farmhouse.

The company also wants to make interior alterations and build a new secondary highways access.

Cllr Jefferson said Chapmanslade Parish Council will consider the application at its meeting on August 29.