A publican has been forced to remove colourful window boxes from outside his Wantage pub after council officers said they were a danger to the public.

Mike Williams

Mike Williams was told to take down the boxes outside The Bell in the Market Place, after Oxfordshire County Council received a complaint that a child had hit its head on one.

Mr Williams, who has run the 350-year-old pub with his wife Sue for 17 years, is an important contributor to Wantage's Britain In Bloom entry.

The couple were on holiday in Florida when county highways officials ordered the removal of all the wooden flower containers, which are at head-height. They were threatened with legal action if they failed to comply.

Mr Williams immediately rang Oxfordshire County Council from the USA and spoke to its highways procedures officer, Sue Pearce, to ask why he had been singled out.

"I was told a young child had banged their head and a complaint had been made," he said.

"She said we had to remove all the window boxes and make do with hanging baskets instead. She added that she had the power to take us to court if we refused.

"It's ludicrous, really, as you can walk about the town centre and there are cable television boxes in the middle of the pavement. Right on the corner of our pub is a weight restriction sign on a metal pole, which people could easily walk into."

Wantage in Bloom committee chairman, Joyce Hutchinson, was surprised and upset to hear that highways officers had intervened.

"This is really annoying," she said. "It's the Jubilee Year after all, and we've got to make an effort.

"It will make a difference to Wantage in Bloom because we rely on a supporter like Mr Williams.

"I want to know more about this and will be looking into it. It was always such an attractive corner."