A TEN-day protest over work to construct a skatepark in Chepstow will go on, residents vowed last night.

Protesters have held up work in Bulwark Park, known locally as Piggy's Hill, by obstructing construction vehicles from entering the park from the designated entrance in St George Road.

Residents were woken from their beds shortly after 4am yesterday, when a 13-tonne digger smashed its way through a fence on Bulwark Road.

Valerie Brown, of St George Road, said: "A neighbour knocked on our door at 4.45am to tell us about the digger. We got dressed and joined others on their way to protest."

Protesters set up camp, pitching tents in preparation for the long haul. Many residents said they were prepared to stage a 24-hour operation - but solicitors for the two parties agreed a temporary halt to the work after lunch.

Mike Moran, Monmouthshire's leisure and recreation manager, told the crowd: "Following discussion with solicitors for both parties, work will be delayed for 24 hours to see if there are legal grounds for an injunction to be taken out against construction work.

"Following that we will move onto the site later this week to fence off a compound, and then move ahead to begin construction."

But residents' spokesman Jeff Phelps said: "Our solicitors agreed this with the council, we didn't.

"We will prevent the workers from proceeding."