CAMPAIGNERS have stepped up their bid to bring an end to a long-running battle to save a popular riverside footpath.

Members of the Easby riverside restoration project have applied to the Environment Agency for permission to create a more sloping bank to prevent the River Swale washing away the path near Easby, Richmond.

Outgoing project chairman Brian Robertshaw told a meeting of members that grading the bank to create a slope instead of the current vertical bank could be the first step in stabilising the earth to prevent further undercutting.

Stones and gravel from the opposite side of the river would be put in place to further protect the bank from the flow of water, he said.

The meeting was also told that Keith Schellenberg, the new owner of St Nicholas, had given written permission for access to the eroded area across his land.

The restoration project has raised £25,300 towards the total £70,000 cost of shoring up the bank near Easby Abbey.

The path has collapsed repeatedly during the past 30 years and a diversion was approved to move it several yards further away from the water.

But project supporters are adamant that the bank must still be stabilised to prevent the river washing away the latest path soon.

Mr Robertshaw said the group's work had been hampered by a series of problems during the past year. The problems included the collapse of Mercury Bridge, the foot-and-mouth crisis and the death of Lady Serena James, a supporter of the project.