CHURCH chiefs could be landed with an unexpected bill for £2,500 after a group of residents blocked the path of a crane hired to dismantle scaffolding from the church's roof.

Tensions ran high and police attended the private Stourport road of Parkes Passage to prevent any breach of the peace as the crane was eventually sent away due to the obstruction, at Wesley Methodist Church.

Hiring the crane costs £1,500 a day and the scaffolding, which was put up for the construction of a temporary roof as part of a major renovation of the historic building, will cost £1,000 for each week it remains.

The blockade, on Friday, by a group of Parkes Quay residents, sparked criticism from workmen unable to carry out their work, as well as other Parkes Quay residents who were unable to leave their properties by car.

One such resident, Jonathan Evans, branded the action "irrational", while another, 63-year-old John Eames, said he found it "totally unchristian".

He told the Shuttle/Times & News: "There are purportedly 10 residents that have signed up to this action and three of us have been excluded from any meetings. The three of us are totally opposed to what's happening here today, particularly in regard to blocking the church."

The church's Rev Paul Booth said the problem stemmed from the fact Parkes Passage had become the property of Parkes Quay residents since work started on the church's £500,000 renovation in November and some residents were "not happy" with the private road being used by building vehicles.

He added some had not been happy about the crane driving down the road to construct the scaffolding in January but its access had not been prevented.

"As far as possible, we're telling our workmen to go down the public footpath and the crane is the last major vehicle that needs to go down the road," the minister explained. "After that, we can get our vehicles down the public right of way."

He said the matter was now in the hands of solicitors and it was unknown when the crane could return.

A statement from the residents who blocked the crane said: "Regretfully, due to negotiation between solicitors we feel it would be inappropriate for us to comment at this time other than to say the church and the crane company were notified of our intention and we hope for an early and amicable solution."