RESIDENTS today vowed to stand united in a line of defiance to prevent council workmen giving daffodils the chop.

The move comes after protesters formed a human barricade to stop a mower heading for hundreds of the spring flowers and ordered: "You're not going any further."

The act of defiance led by Lynn Henessy, at Mayfield Flats, Bolton Road, Darwen, yesterday morning prevented the area becoming the latest victim of the Daff Destroyers policy as the workman turned around and left.

Today Coun Michael Law-Riding, the deputy leader of the Conservatives on Blackburn with Darwen Borough Council, called on the towns to stand defiant to protect the flowers.

Residents said they stepped in after a 20ft stretch of flowers was cut down but Peter Hunt, director of direct services at the council, said there had been a misunderstanding and that the workman was there to trim a few daffodils in perimeter areas.

Lynn said she took the action as father and Joan were housebound and seeing daffodils from their window was one of their few remaining pleasures.

Joan, who was in tears when the workmen started to mow over the daffodils, said: "I usually look forward to the flowers as I cannot do any gardening. It got quite heated in the garden as people told him to stop cutting the daffodils."

Mayfield resident Jane Harrison said: "The man said they were going to mow all the daffodils. They are beautiful and there are a lot of old people who live here and they love looking at them."

Another resident, Sydney Kennedy, went out to ask the man what he was doing.

"The man told me he had been told to mow down the daffodils," he said, "I told him he would be destroying something of beauty. If they come back again I will go outside again to try and stop them. "

Yesterday afternoon a council officer went with ward Coun Karimeh Foster to calm the residents.

Coun Foster said that the council should have let the residents know what they were doing to prevent any such misunderstanding.

She said the council had now decided, after the residents' complaints, to leave all the daffodils alone.

Two weeks ago the council outraged residents of Haslingden Road, Blackburn, when a 350-yard stretch of daffodils was mowed over.

Then council officers said workmen mowed over daffodils where they had received complaints in the past that the verges looked untidy once the daffodils had died.

The grass around them can grow long while daffodils are left for six weeks after flowering to store enough energy to survive the following year.

Last week officers from other local councils said such mess was worthwhile because 'that's the price you pay for something that looks nice'.

Coun Michael Law-Riding, deputy leader of the Conservative group at Blackburn with Darwen Borough Council, said: "Other people should stand defiant and having their say to tell them to stop. Why destroy something that's beautiful?

Coun Foster said: "The council workman had a job to do and was issued an order to cut the grass and cut through some of the daffodils.

"The lady apologised to the residents and promised to leave the daffodils for six weeks after they have flowered and then mow the grass. "

Mr Hunt said: "There has been some misunderstanding in this instance and the residents were concerned that the daffodils would be cut.

"I can assure them that there was no intention to cut down daffodils."