VOLUNTEERS who dedicate themselves to keeping footpaths and bridleways clear and tidy have been praised by a county council.

North Yorkshire County Council’s Countryside Access Service relies on a team of around 100 volunteers to help maintain a network of over 6,000km of public rights of way outside of the two National Parks.

Volunteers inspect issues reported by the public and help with waymarking, surveys, and clearing vegetation from around stiles, gates, signposts and bridges.

As well as the volunteers, there are many groups across the county who also want to get involved, and in some cases are already taking a proactive approach to looking after their local paths.

Arrietty Heath, of the Countryside Access Service, developed a Path Keeper scheme, to cultivate more collaborative working relationships with people who want to help.

She said: “The Path Keeper scheme has been a real success as it allows local groups to carry out small scale maintenance on the paths they have agreed to look after, rather than reporting issues to us.

"There is also the potential for groups to undertake larger projects such as resurfacing routes or repairing bridges.

“The idea has been very well received by groups across the county who are keen to contribute to the upkeep of the paths they know and love.

"We are incredibly grateful to everybody involved and hope to expand the scheme even further.”