Angry residents are threatening to confront councillors over a landslide which has left a road blocked for more than five weeks.

They are calling for the wall collapse in Maudlin Road, Totnes, to be discussed as an emergency item at Friday’s county council highways meeting at Follaton house in Totnes.

And one furious resident has warned that she and her neighbours are planning to attend the meeting to hear what the county council is planning to do about the blocked road.

Meanwhile, South Hams district councillor John Birch is also calling for the blockage to considered as an emergency issue by this morning’s highways and traffic orders committee, which is made up of county and district councillors.

Residents and Cllr Birch claim the county council is responsible under the Highways Act to maintain the road and keep it clear of obstructions.

Cllr Birch is encouraging people to write to the county calling for the emergency debate and to turn up for the meeting at Follaton House.

Meanwhile, Caroline Voaden, who lives just yards away from the collapsed wall and bank, said: “We, as residents, are aware that finding a long-term solution to the retaining wall issue will be time consuming, costly and involve the complex legalities of liability.

“However, we are asking for a viable short-term solution which would involve removing enough rubble from the site of the fall to create adequate road space for the passage of single file traffic.”

Writing to county council leader and highways committee member John Hart, she said: “I am planning to come to the Hatoc meeting on Friday morning with some neighbours and I would like to request that you ensure the Maudlin Road closure is put on the agenda as an urgent item.

“I would also like to request a meeting with you before Hatoc convenes, so that we can appraise you of the situation we are in and find out what exactly Devon County Council intends to do about the road closure.”

Cllr Birch said he was also trying to put pressure on Cllr Hart to put the Maudlin Road row on Friday’s meeting agenda.

Maudlin Road has been blocked by tonnes of earth and stone since the wall and bank at one end came down during blizzards at the beginning of last month.

The county council originally said it would remove the rubble before beginning talks with the landowners over who will have to foot the bill.

But county councillor Jacqi Hodgson has revealed that, since then, the county council has been forced to call in a barrister, as the two landowners involved claim it is the county responsibility, while the county says it is up to the landowners to deal with.

A spokesman for Devon County Council said: "We have been working to resolve the matter in order to reopen the road.

"The documentation we have seen to date points towards the collapsed retaining wall belonging to the adjacent landowner and not the county.

"This is complex issue and our legal experts are dealing with the matter.

"We hope to be able to take action in the near future to enable the road to be reopened, however engineering works are likely to be required to make the area safe.

"In the meantime we are consulting with the emergency services to ascertain actions that need to be taken should their response be required in Maudlin Road prior to it being reopened."