Local businessman Lin Jardine claims he has tried since June to get South Lanarkshire Council to take action to make safe the damaged wall at the Wellgatehead public car park.

It is currently being used as a yard by contractors working on the new Lanark Grammar School building project.

Lin told the Gazette: "It was back on June 20 I noticed that a lorry going into the temporary yard had hit the wall at the entrance to the car park and it looked to me as if it could collapse at any time.

"I immediately thought that this was an obvious danger and it could fall on a child, injuring it or worse.

''I called the council right away to report it and, when I warned them that they could be in for a big compensation claim if a child was hurt, they put me through to their legal department!

"They said it wasn't their department I should be talking to and they passed me on to something called their risk-assessment department. But they said it wasn't a matter for them either."

After several more calls, he was eventually put through to the estates department, which deals with the maintenance and safety of council-owned properties.

Thinking he'd, finally, reported the matter properly to the right people who would take action, Lin let matters rest. And waited...and kept on waiting.

Last week he called the council to find out why nothing had been done.

He said: ''I was told that the contractor using the car park for a yard said they weren't going to repair the wall.

''The council seems to think that's the end of the matter! I've warned them that the wall is dangerous and could fall down at any time; a child could get badly hurt and the council — and taxpayers — are going to get hit with a colossal compensation claim.

''I've done what I can as a private citizen so I wonder if the Gazette can get them to see sense before it's too late."

The Gazette did, indeed, pursue the matter, only to be told that the council did not agree that the wall was in a dangerous enough state to repair immediately.

A spokeswoman also denied that the council had been contacted until last month about the problem, despite Lin having a full phone record of his calls to them, dating back to June.

A spokeswoman for SLC said: "The council is leasing an area at Wellgatehead to the contractor for the modernisation of Lanark Grammar.

"We have been aware of the damage to the wall in question since August 13.

''However, the wall is not dangerous and its condition is being monitored by the council and the contractor.

"The contractor is responsible for the reinstatement of the compound area at the end of the lease and has already agreed to repair the wall."