EXTENSIVE work has been carried out to open up a disused footpath which has been impassable for years to give walkers a new chance to get out into the countryside around Northallerton and Brompton.

Major redevelopment along Stokesley road, coming out of Northallerton, to create hundreds of new homes and a new road has meant the main footpath has had to be closed off.

So Brompton Town Council has cleared a large stretch of path in the other direction on the main A684 road up to Hallikeld Corner and Long Lane. Landscape workers Keith Collins and Lenny McLaren have spent months sorting out the path and also revealing an historic pack horse bridge on the side of Long Lane.

Brompton clerk Paul Atkin said the previous path had been a popular route for walkers and joggers and added: "This footpath had largely fallen into disuse due to substantial overgrowth of the grass verge onto the footpath over many years. In places it was up to 18 inches overgrown with grass and weeds and was really not very welcoming as a walking route.”

The council bought a mechanical edging machine especially for the job which they will also use to maintain paths in the cemetery.

“The council hopes the footpath will provide a route from Brompton village into the countryside for people who wish to exercise by walking or jogging or who perhaps just want to have a short walk in the open air with a child in a buggy which was impossible to do before the path was opened up,” he added.

Mr McLaren said they had revealed the old pack horse bridge which is thought to date back to before the road. “I’ve been here for 30 years and I had no idea it was there," he said.