LOCALS have been stopped from putting up umbrellas on a Racha island beach and a resort developer has blocked a nearby canal and a road, a meeting heard today.

The Rayaburi Resort, with an inquiry already underway over damage to coral reefs by construction barges, has brought more conflict with local villagers.

They told Vice Governor Treerayut Eamtakul that although the resort was not yet finished, local people who had earned their living from lounge chair rents for 10 years had been told to stop.

Suchat Jailek, one of the villagers, said that blocking the canal meant that rainwater flooded neighboring property.

Racha island had brought a lot of income to Phuket because it was an attractive tourist destination, Khun Suchat said.

''Reefs at the north of the island have been destroyed,'' he said.

Somchat Somnam, who with others owns the Rayaburi development, said Thais should be proud that Thai owned the land and were developing the hotel.

''I have been thinking maybe I should sell to foreigners,'' he said. ''But if I have a resort I will bring business to the island, and help many people. I do everything by the law.''

He said that umbrellas could certainly be put up on the Ao Siam public beach.

He said he had blocked the canal to stop bad water from another property running into the sea.

''If everybody wants me to unblock the canal, I will do it, but I have photos to show how bad the water is running from the other property.''

The Vice Governor said that rather than using his ''local knowledge'' to solve problems on Racha, Khun Somchat was welcome to use the experts at Provincial Hall.

''You cannot block the canal or the road like that. We have the staff to help make these decisions, free of charge,'' he said. ''Just call us first.''

The umbrellas should be allowed on Ao Siam beach, provided they were attractive and there were not too many, he said.

The vice governor said it was much better to have people from the Provincial Hall come to meet locals and discuss problems that to have hundreds of locals suddenly turn up in protest.

''We want to make more situations win-win,'' he told the meeting at the Rawai administrative offices..