NORTH Yorkshire County Council has reacted angrily to the latest attack by the Ramblers' Association on the state of the footpath network.

The national office of the association claimed the condition of footpaths was appalling and said tourism in North Yorkshire was in danger of being held back by the number of broken bridges.

The association said the county council had released a report listing 234 damaged or missing bridges and culverts on rights of way, but indications were that there were many more which did not appear in the report.

The RA added that according to Audit Commission figures, only half of the rights of way in North Yorkshire met ''ease of use'' criteria, and missing or broken bridges were a significant factor.

RA footpath campaigner Duncan Exley said: ''Walkers provide a major part of North Yorkshire's tourist income but there are fears that they may avoid the county for better maintained paths in other areas.

"The RA is arguing for the county council to make a significant investment in its rights of way resources when councillors agree budgets for the next financial year.''

Mr Exley claimed RA volunteers also said they had organised working groups keen to build and repair bridges but were still waiting for the county council to give permission to start.

"This situation is a damning indictment of the low priority that councils put on footpaths at a time when their economic importance is fully recognised.

"Christmas is a very popular time for walking and walkers finding dangerous or impassable bridges on their route are highly unlikely to return to the area.

"Our volunteers are only too happy to help with the building and repair of these bridges, yet the council refuses to give them the go-ahead to do this valuable work, which is nonsensical."

There was a strong reaction from County Coun John Fort, executive member for environmental services.

He said: "The figures used by the RA are figures we have given to them to show the scale of the problem facing the county council. We want to work with groups like the Ramblers, not constantly be at odds with them.

"For the past year we have been developing the rights of way improvement plan submission for the county local transport plan which examines the ease of use of footpaths, including bridges, right across North Yorkshire.

"The two plans are to be progressively implemented. This means there will be an increasing recognition of the value of the rights of way network as a recognised and sustainable transport option."

Coun Fort said that through its countryside services, established earlier this year, the council had appointed a volunteer co-ordinator. He was already working with volunteers on schemes aimed at making more rights of way easy to use. These would include repairs to stiles and bridges.

Coun Fort added: "The council has invested heavily in trying to improve this new facility and money will be made available again in the next financial year to complete a number of projects, but for this to happen we need to be working in harmony with volunteers like the RA.

"The council recognises that walking is a very popular pastime in North Yorkshire and we have many wonderful areas to explore. However, it is the council taxpayer who has to foot the bill for work on rights of way in a county which is both a national and international treasure. For that reason it should receive much more financial recognition from central government.

"As the county council sets in place its rights of way improvement plan we are confident that it will lead to even more people adding to the thousands of walkers and tourists who already enjoy using our extensive rights of way network."