Historic paving stones on a path leading to a busy car park have been "destroyed" after cement was poured over them.

The granite setts leading up to Lodge Lane, North Finchley, has been paved over – but just yards down the road outside the Tally Ho pub, a sign commemorates their importance.

The sign says the ancient carriageway, which leads from Lodge Lane to the High Road, has an area of granite cart tracks remaining from the days before motor vehicles.

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Anya Davies, of Woodside Park, said: “They have just completely destroyed part of the borough’s history that should have been preserved.

“It’s completely spoilt the character of the area. The paving stones are uneven now as they have just been chucked over with cement.

“It is one of the best surviving historic road surfaces in Barnet and it’s just been ruined.”

The English Heritage Society has published extensive guidance on the importance of preserving historic surfaces.

In a similar instance in Perrins Court, Hampstead, Camden Borough Council acknowledged its error and restored the surface to its former condition.

Mrs Davies, a television producer, is now preparing a feature on such matters and is determined to prevent this from happening elsewhere in the borough.

The 37-year-old added: “I imagine they’ve been there since the 1800s. Surely they should check before carrying out work like this?

“To put a sign commemorating their historical importance – yet paving over it at the same time – is just ridiculous.”

According to the authority, the pathway has been paved over with concrete since before 2008 with the exception of granite tracks and small cobbles at the end of the path.

During this, they discovered additional pieces of the existing granite tracks which they chose to leave uncovered.

The statement added: "Unfortunately this is all that remained and there were no original cobbles underneath the original paving. We were able to replace a few damaged cobbles on the small curved section of the path, but this was the only section where the cobbles remained.

“The pathway is privately owned and does not belong to the council, therefore limiting the amount of work we were able to do.

“The historic plaques at Tally Ho corner give a glimpse of what the track used to look like, but is not intended as a literal representation of how the area looks today.”