A PORTHMADOG town councillor has expressed fears that a ‘precarious’ rock he thinks weighs around 160 tons could fall onto homes below and “cause carnage”.

The rock is behind several properties, including Cllr Nashir-Hallard’s, in Tremadog.

Cllr Stuart Nashir-Hallard said: “To the far end of our garden just beyond the wall there appeared to be a path-like clearing.

“As I’ve never seen this area I decided to take a walk up the path and in doing so I realised it was just a clearing around a large rock.

“As I walked further up the land I noticed the rock had split away from the main formation with approximately a 30cm gap between the two formations.

“There was vegetation growing in between the two areas which concerned me as it could well push them further apart.

“As I came back down and studied the ground the massive piece of rock was sat on, it looked precarious to me. I noted there was a crack in the boulder that appears to be holding it in.

“I sent an email to Natural Resources Wales immediately informing them of the situation.

“They sent out rock engineering, who declared there had to be a specialist report drawn up.

“By using an online calculator I’ve been able to estimate the weight of the rock to be up to 160 tons!

“The report also states that work to make the rocks safe is needed in the short term.

“However, NRW discovered that this piece of land wasn’t theirs as it was in fact unregistered land running between our property and theirs.”

Cllr Nashir-Hallard said the rock is situated directly behind several properties.

“I fear if the rock is left and it does fall, the ramifications could be total human carnage,” he said.

“The council have declared it’s not their responsibility as it’s private land. I would strongly argue they have a moral duty to secure the rock. If the council do nothing, I have informed them in black and white of the danger, so the blood will most definitely be on their hands!

“I cannot legally do anything but they must, otherwise there could potentially be carnage, it doesn’t bear thinking about.

“I’m astounded at the council’s response.

“This is totally avoidable and needs addressing immediately.

“If it were a dangerous building that was unregistered the council would secure it, find the owners and charge them for the works, this situation should be no different.”

A Gwynedd Council spokesperson said: “The council is aware of the situation in Tremadog and the matter is currently under investigation.”