"It's part of the village's history. Oliver Cromwell apparently stood on the rock when the church was ransacked."

The outcry started when a letter was sent to the parish council by Transport for Bucks' Matt Whincup.

It said: "This puts Transport for Bucks in a very difficult position as I understand the stone has been in place at the junction for a very long time.

"Technically the stone is an obstruction in the public highway according to The Highways Act 1980 and now that an incident has been brought to our attention we are obliged to take action.

"If we were to remove the stone it would naturally upset the parish council and local residents however, unless we can come up with an alternative solution to make the stone 'safe' we may have to resort to removing it."

As a temporary measure the county council has placed traffic cones around the stone to make it 'safe'.

Legend has it the Devil visited the village and a brave local took the demon's sword and cut off his foot.

When the limb fell to the ground, it turned into the 'Soulbury Stone'.

Another tale is that the stone roll down the hill every night when it hears the clock strike midnight.