English Heritage has been accused of ‘vandalising’ one of the Westcountry’s most perfectly-preserved medieval villages after the iconic cobbled streets were ripped up and replaced with modern paving stones.

The ancient roads and paths were an iconic feature in the historic settlement of Dunster, Somerset, which dates back to Bronze and Iron Age Britain.

But council chiefs deemed the cobbles too dangerous after receiving complaints from pedestrians who had slipped and injured themselves.

The council consulted English Heritage on a project to replace the cobbles – so locals assumed the new surface would be in keeping with the historic setting.

But they are horrified that the new machine-cut paving slabs are an ugly grey colour which “look like a path on a new housing estate”.

Arthur Ell, who has lived in the village his whole life, said: “They look like concrete, nothing like the red sandstone that the whole village is built from, and they’re machine cut with no history.”

The 70-year-old added: “The understanding was that it would be like what was done in the High Street, which has weathered down and looks fine.

“These are very different stones and everyone in the street is up in arms, we are really upset, it looks like a path on a new housing estate.

“In my personal opinion they are butchering the place.”

Shop owner Jeni Fender added: “Dunster is a national treasure and this is a national disgrace.

“English Heritage has committed an act of deliberate vandalism and quite frankly why shouldn’t they have to pay for their mistake.”

The village – famed for its 1,000-year-old castle – is regarded as one of the most-perfectly preserved medieval villages in England and attracts hundreds of visitors a year.

However, the ancient cobbles were in a poor state of repair, prompting traders to fear litigation if they took responsibility for repairing them.

In 2011, following a number of emergency call-outs to people who had fallen, workmen replaced some of the famous cobbles in the High Street with paving stone imported from China.

Despite an outcry at the time, most are now happy that the replacement slabs used there are in keeping with the area.

The historic status of the village architecture and streetscape mean that English Heritage must be consulted on what paving Somerset County Council lays down.

That process was followed for the current renovation scheme on West Street.

It closely resembles the previous High Street improvements and was developed by County Councillor Christine Lawrence in conjunction with the Dunster Working Group.

The group is made up of West Somerset Council, Somerset County Council, Exmoor National Park Authority and the local parish council.

However, locals say the choice of paving for West Street is inappropriate.

Jeni Fender, owner of Made In Dunster, the only shop affected by the paving, criticised the charity and said they operated a “one size fits all” policy.

“Dunster is probably England’s largest and most in-tact medieval village,” she said.

“It is a national treasure and as such we are unique, but English Heritage has a ‘onesize-fits-all’ approach to Dunster.

“We want what was provided two years ago in the High Street.

“We don’t want the more expensive, perfectly cut stone which just doesn’t fit with our charming and quirky village.”

Jeni added she was not against the principal of replacing some of the cobbles, which she said were problematic to visitors.

The issue is now set to be debated at a parish council meeting where officials involved in the project are due to attend.

Parish council chairman Mrs Christine Oliver said: “We have been asked to put this on the agenda and we have responded by doing so.”

Dunster began as a Saxon village and has been home to a castle for more than 1000 years.

Listed in the Domesday Book of 1086, the prefix ‘Duns’ may well be a reference to the Saxon Dunn, who held land in nearby.

Famous for making a thick type of wool called Dunsters, many of the townspeople earned a living by spinning and weaving.

English Heritage said it had not been contacted about the Dunster re-paving.

Jenny Chesher, Inspector of Historic Buildings and Areas for English Heritage in the South West said: “We have only just become aware of the replacement of cobbles to pavements in West Street, Dunster and had not received any request for our advice on the works from the local authority.

“We have therefore expressed no opinion on either the principle of the works or the detail of how they would be undertaken, including the selection of stone.

“English Heritage is a statutory consultee on certain planning and listed building applications affecting the historic environment.

“However, to our knowledge, no planning application has been made for these works so there has been no means by which we could have commented on them.

“In 2011 English Heritage was made aware of similar proposals for Dunster High Street and expressed concern to Exmoor National Park at the potential visual impact that could be caused by the loss of cobbled pavements on the special historic character of Dunster.

“However, a decision was made at that time by Exmoor National Park that planning permission would not be required for the works and therefore our views were not taken into account.”

Somerset County Council defended the slabs and said the materials were locally sourced.

A spokesman said: “We are fully aware of the historical importance of Dunster and the decision to replace some of the cobbles is in response to local concerns over safety and accessibility.

“The materials being used are locally-sourced and fully approved by Conservation Officers, and the appearance of the stone will change as it weathers.

“Dunster is a very important tourism location and we are investing more than £400,000 in sympathetic improvement schemes over the next few months.”