MAJOR repair and strengthening work to a footpath by the River Leven at Hutton Rudby is going well, parish councillors say.

The popular right of way behind Levenside has been closed for months, after sections collapsed into the water. The path is well-used and connects to other routes leading to the village and to Skutterskelfe and Sexhow.

Work is continuing to rebuild the riverbanks, using special cages filled with stones, and new turf will be laid.

District Coun Caroline Seymour lobbied the county council for action, and much of the work should be complete by the summer.

Speaking at the latest meeting of Rudby Parish Council, vice-chairman Coun John Richardson said: "The work is progressing very well and the men are doing an excellent job at the Skutterskelfe end.

"However, there have been delays with stones and cages, so the foreman said it could be seven weeks before the work is finally complete."

A county footpaths officer had been to see the work and full agreed with recommendations about retaining a temporary-laid access road after the work was over. Some surface material could possibly be re-used elsewhere to raise sunken stretches.

A kissing gate would replace a stile and turf would be laid, said Coun Richardson, adding: "It will be a huge asset when finished.

"It looks like a superb engineering job."

Coun Richardson again raised his concerns about a third smaller arch of the bridge which, he understands, is now hidden underground. He believed it once supplied water to a mill race, which fed the old textile mill which stood at the bottom of Hutton bank.

The mill manufactured a linen-like material used for ship sails. Large lengths of material was hung out in fields along the Leven valley to dry. Also in the past, many Hutton Rudby residents worked at home, handling material on individual looms positioned by wide windows.

In a separate River Leven construction project, the stone bridge by All Saints' Church is also being strengthened, requiring lane restrictions, arch work and resurfacing.