VILLAGERS say they fear accidents on a narrow bridle path in Appleton if blueprints for a housing development on ancient woodland are approved.

A long-standing planning wrangle at The Longwood, off Lyons Lane, looks set to erupt again after Warrington Fabrication Company Ltd submitted an application to build a new house and demolish a pre-fabricated garage.

But residents claim that plans for an associated five-storey car park will lead to more traffic down the constricted access road, providing access to The Longwood, that is regularly used by schoolchildren in the morning.

Dave Kemp, who lives at nearby Staines Close, said: "It's an idyllic little spot and all of a sudden we could have a monstrous house in front of us. The bridle track is just a single track without any passing places for cars to get past."

Concerned residents claim that the track has become wider over the years with people trimming overlapping branches in an attempt to 'create' a passing place for vehicles.

But the applicant and owner of The Longwood, Martin Simcock, from Warrington Fabrication Company Ltd, has denied suggestions that he is planning to widen the existing bridle path.

He told the Guardian: "I'm not a developer. I love living here and wish I hadn't got into this debate. Developers have approached me and told me to sell the land, but if that happened, they would put many more houses there with access from Staines Close. I'm trying to protect all our interests."

Last November, Appleton Parish Council pushed for a tree preservation order to prevent suggestions that a new draft was being submitted to the council for two houses, with access from an existing track rather than Staines Close.

The track is a popular route for motorists getting onto Cann Lane and can be busy with cars taking the shortcut towards the motorway. It is a recognised ramblers' path and recognised in publications like West Cheshire Walks.