Natural Resources Wales (NRW) has said it does not have the ‘legislative power’ to repair a damaged wall which saw gardens fall into a river in Ystradgynlais.

At the beginning of February, a section of wall surrounding the River Tawe in the town collapsed into the river, leaving homes at Llys Tawel exposed to the river without protection.

Photos and videos taken by a local resident reveal a large part of gardens, along with debris and a crumbling boundary wall in the river.

On the day of the collapse, Powys County Council officers attended to assess the situation. The county council said that as the River Tawe is designated as a main river, the “lead authority in this instance” would be Natural Resources Wales (NRW).

But NRW has now told the Brecon & Radnor Express that repairing and maintaining the wall does not fall under their remit either.

Gavin Bown, NRW Head of Operations for Mid Wales said: “We fully appreciate that the collapse of the retaining wall is deeply concerning for the residents of Llys Tawel.

“Our role on main rivers such as the Tawe is clearly set out in legislation. Our role is to is to warn and inform people of flood risk when it arises, and to maintain flood assets - such as flood walls - that we build and manage.

“NRW is not the owner of the land on which the retaining wall lies and the wall is not a flood defence. Because of this, we do not have any legislative powers or responsibility to maintain or repair the wall.”

Earlier this month, MP for Brecon and Radnorshire Fay Jones called for urgent action and accused authorities of ‘dithering’ over the collapse.