Balzan's valley road looked like a war zone this morning as a building was demolished with no apparent precautions taken to control dust, falling stones, or traffic close by.

This picture, uploaded on Facebook, drew strong reactions from people who had been to the area, and the public in general.

Most complained that the rule of the jungle was prevailing in Malta, saying complaints to the police in such situations failed to draw immediate action. They questioned why there was no warden in sight and why the road was not closed, given the obvious danger.

One reader said that at first glance, the picture appeared to have been taken in Syria.

"We could hardly drive past because of the dust, we risked a collision or hitting somebody. Poor neighbours," one reader said.  

"Saw this image just after reading a heading of an article on Times of Malta  - Developers’ lobby lands ‘educational’ TVM show......... words fail me!," another reader said. 

Times of Malta also received complaints about another building site at San Ġwann, as dust clouds blanketed the area.

The building site in San Gwann