A NEWPORT man held a peaceful protest outside the city's Housing Trust offices over conditions for residents during the rebuilding of the city's prefab estates.

Ian Waters, 54, a resident of the Bishpool estate, spent five fours outside the offices of Newport Housing Trust in the Gold Tops area yesterday during his one-man protest.

Later Mr Waters, who suffers from ill health and took along his oxygen cylinder, said: "This was the only way that I can think to get my message across, and to get people to listen to our problems.

"This is not just for me, but is for the other people who are having to put up with these terrible conditions.

"The mud is horrendous, and it is ironic that at a time when Newport has got city status, its residents are being treated so drastically."

Mr Waters is accusing Newport Housing Trust, which is overseeing the redevelopment of the old prefabs into modern new bungalows, of not meeting deadlines they have given to residents, and says the muddy roads are making life difficult for many of the estate's elderly residents.

But the Trust responsible for replacing Newport's prefabs say the roads are cleaned daily, and building work is being completed faster than the national average. Trust director Phil Toms said: "Mr Waters left us at about 2.15pm.

"We provided him with tea and coffee. It is his right to freedom of expression.

"I believe he is protesting about the construction pro-cess, mud on the roads and such like.

"We have three independent bodies who monitor the scheme against national standards. They then provide reports back to the trust.

"In Mr Waters' case, the site he has been looking at is progressing above the national average. That is not to say it is perfect.

"We have the sites cleaned two to three times daily, but there must be times when the road is muddy for us to clean them."

* Pictured: Ian Waters outside the Housing Trust offices