Government has began an initiative to tear down dangerous walls across the Island.

Speaking at a press conference at Loyal Hill Pass, Devonshire, Minister of Works and Engineering, Dennis Lister, addressed concerns residents had about a wall so decayed, the road was forced to shut down more than three years ago. As a result of the road closing, the top road has been used for traffic and is suffering from wear and tear.

Along with Mr. Lister, Junior Minister of Health, Patrice Minors, spoke on behalf of the residents.

Mr. Lister explained that along with the usual wear and tear, the decay of the wall was exacerbated by Hurricane Fabian in 2003. Works and Engineering employees starting tearing it down on Wednesday.

Mr. Lister said: "We're here to highlight Government's initiative in areas where there are dangerous walls. This is a situation that has been out of hand for a long time."

He said thanks to assistance from Ms Minors, his ministry stayed on top of the situation in order to find a solution. Ms Minors explained while she was on the canvassing trail, Loyal Hill Pass was a common complaint.

"The residents are truly excited that a new wall will be erected and the road re-opened. With the road closed, it has become a nuisance to the residents," she said. A few of the residents thanked the Government for starting the project.

Mrs. Kathleen Trott said: 'I'm thankful the wall is getting fixed. It's been a nuisance. We have so much traffic which is unbearable sometimes. I'm just thankful and happy."

Mrs. Ida Spenser said she was also thankful the wall was being fixed because children would use it as a shortcut to get to school instead of going the long way around.

Another resident, Shirley Richardson said: "We still have a number of issues to be worked out but I think we're on our way to getting some improvement."

Mr. Lister also said there are many other areas Island-wide with dangerous walls but was unable to give a number or specific examples. He said they could fall down at any moment as a result of rain, winds and hurricanes. The Minister couldn't say when the walls would be fixed, but said the most important thing was to tear them down to avoid any accidents.