THREE embarrassed planners who went to view a potential housing site at an old brewery maltings ended up locked inside.

A planning committee visit had been arranged to view the site at Langthorpe, Boroughbridge, North Yorkshire.

But after spending some time looking around the Grade II listed building - which developers wanted to turn into 28 homes - planning officer David Rhodes, along with Councillors Brian Lumsden and Bill Hoult were locked inside with only pigeons to keep them company.

The owners had locked the building thinking that the visiting party had already left. But the trio had decided to view the cellar before leaving and parted from the official entourage.

Shouts of help failed to alert anyone, so one of them used his mobile telephone to ring the council office at Harrogate Borough Council.

They, in turn, contacted planning officer Neville Watson on his mobile and the threesome were released.

Coun Lumsden said later: "We had not been downstairs to see the basement and decided to go before the visit was over. But when we got back we were surprised to see the other councillors and officials had left.

"The door had been locked and there was no one else about. I had thought about jumping from a first floor window, but decided against it."

Later, when councillors Hoult and Lumsden took their seats at the planning meeting in Harrogate they had to endure colleagues' banter over the "lock- in".

Councillors on the area planning committee later refused the scheme, saying they considered the design out of keeping with the building's conservation status.