TOURISM campaigners have blasted Dorset County Council for letting Dorchester's prized Roman townhouse fall into disrepair - just five years after spending £380,000 to preserve the ruins.

The county town attraction - the only Roman townhouse in the country - was opened to the public in a blaze of publicity in 1997 after the project was planned by former county archaeologist Laurence Keen.

He said at the time: "It is a tremendously exciting project of national importance - I am very pleased we are able to make the most of Dorset's most wonderful Roman treasure."

But now Blue Badge guide Alistair Chisholm says the housing of the mosaics is full of leaves, covered in mildew. After vandals smashed one of the glass panes, the shards were not cleared for weeks.

Because the attraction's scheduled monument consent has lapsed nobody can go in to see the mosaics.

Poor drainage at the site has meant that the winter weather has taken its toll on the mosaics and the county will have to spend more than £6,600 to restore them.

The council's conservation officers are working with English heritage to iron out the drainage problems, which could cost tens or even hundreds of thousands of pounds.

Mr Chisholm said: "It's quite incredible that the county council has allowed the townhouse, one of the major feathers in Dorchester's cap, to look like as if no-one cares for it.

"I was shocked when I went up there and saw the smashed glass still lying there - I can't believe that nobody's bothered to clear it up.

"This is appalling when you think about it. Here we are calling for the Roman baths in Charles Street to be uncovered and we can't even look after what we've already got."

Mr Keen, who is no longer responsible for the site, said: "Unfortunately, the Roman townhouse is not in as good a state as I hoped the county council would have kept it."

The council's historic environment manager John Lowe said: "This was a groundbreaking project and we had to estimate what was needed to preserve the site.

"We put in drainage, but not enough, and now we have to consider how to put extra drainage in without damaging what is a very sensitive site.

"We are considering the long-term plans for the townhouse, balancing the needs of the visitors with the need to preserve the site and that includes maintenance. We do not have a separate budget for this, although we would like one."