The "Battle of the Bulbs" in Hanwell took another twist today as police were called to prevent protestors interfering with work.

A group of around 50 people, representing a number of residents' groups, gathered in Campbell Road this morning to try and stop workers installing replica lampposts.

Senior officers from Ealing Council were called to the area to calm the crowd, before cops were called in to keep the group at least 10 metres away from the workers.

The protestors are unhappy with council plans to remove antique lampposts from their streets, which have a highly protected status, to be refurbished and put in a newly created Heritage Quarter in West Ealing.

Carolyn Brown, a member of the Lawns Residents' Association, said: "The work started out here at about 7.30am, so we decided to get a group together to stop the work from going ahead.

"We are making the point we do not want these 100-year-old lampposts replaced with imitations. They have tried to push these changes through without any consultation, and we are being treated like second class citizens.

"They never approached anyone to ask what we thought, not even after they found out it was possible to refurbish the old lights to bring them into line with UK regulations.

"To take them from one area and place them in another is quite absurd."

Eventually contractors were able to start the work to put in the new lampposts, although the work to take out the old lights has not yet begun.

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