THE SIMMERING disquiet over the Moreton boulders - dubbed the "new Stonehenge" - has finally bubbled over.

The giant Cotswold stone rocks created a stir when they were placed around the town's greens earlier this year to stop motorists parking on the grass and damaging the granite kerbstones.

Complaints were made to the town council and at one stage Cllr Ben Jeffrey even said he would arrange for them to be painted with milk and yoghurt in a bid to encourage lichen growth and help them blend in.

But this week, irate town trader Steve Farnsworth of Grimes House Antiques in the High Street, decided action was needed.

He started a petition in his shop on Tuesday calling on the town council to come up with a more "attractive solution" to the parking problems.

He had 25 signatures before the morning was out and now intends to distribute the petition around the town in a bid to persuade the town council to get rid of the rocks.

"One guy wouldn't leave a comment because he said it would be unprintable. These stones are being likened to the new Stonehenge. Someone described them as Barney Rubble's Backyard," said Mr Farnsworth.

He said he had decided to start a campaign against the boulders because of the complaints.

"The comments haven't stopped and I've just been egged on to do something about it," he said.

"They don't do anything to enhance the attractiveness of Moreton at all. People are incredulous. I don't want to see vehicles parking on the green but this is a messy solution," he added.

Cllr Jeffrey said cars were dislodging the granite kerbs, which were then being taken by people for their garden rockeries. The same was happening with the smaller Cotswold stones on the green and it was costing a lot of money to replace them.

"It was decided that stones should be bigger to keep people off the green. The council wanted stones that couldn't be moved.

"I would accept they aren't the ideal solution but they are doing the job and saving the precept from rising," said Cllr Jeffrey.