A NEW walks programme will set people in the Sedgefield borough on the path to fitness and good health.

Because taking just a small amount of exercise every day can transform people's lives, local authorities and health trusts are sponsoring projects to help keep people away from their doctor's surgery.

A three-year Walking to Health scheme is already under way and is launching new routes around Spennymoor tomorrow.

Backed by Spennymoor Town Council, Sedgefield Borough Council, the Sedgefield Primary Care Trust and the Countryside Agency, it offers maps and information packs on exercise, diet and countryside issues as well as comprehensive walk booklets.

An open day is being held in the bowls pavilion at Jubilee Park, from 10am to 1.30pm, with a short walk to the Cow Plantation Nature Reserve starting at 10.45am.

For fitter visitors, there is a longer route to Tudhoe Village.

Health walks officer Jim Nutt is devising a walks programme for communities throughout the borough.

He said: "We want to encourage people to take up some form of activity for 30 minutes a day.

"There are walks starting from factories and offices, and others that can be done at any time.

"They are all designed to encourage people to get on to their feet and out into the open. By the end of the programme we aim to have projects in every village, with walk leaders and maps of routes. At the same time, we aim to improve and encourage the diversification of the countryside "

An information pack is available from the borough council offices in Green Lane, Spennymoor.

Contact Mr Nutt and the rest of the borough's countryside team on (01388) 816166.