MANY miles of dry stone walls in the North York Moors National Park should be protected in the same way as hedgerows, members of the authority have been told.

Many of the traditional walls - some dating back more than 200 years - have been lost or damaged by utility companies and others, said Andrew Herbert, farm conservation officer for the park.

Other national parks were also keen to see walls given protection, he said. In the Peak District, up to 15km (nine miles) are lost each year.

"Legislation would enable local authorities to influence the removal of walls, in particular to protect those which are of historic and landscape value. In the North York Moors, there have been cases in recent years of deliberate removal of walls by land managers," he said.

Theft of stone from walls, often for garden rockeries, and neglect were the biggest problems according to a countryside survey carried out recently, said Mr Herbert.

However agri-environment schemes funded by the Government and other agencies, has helped restore some walls he said. "The most important factor inm the protection of stone walls is access to adequate funding for their maintenance and repair. We hope that the national review of agri-environment schemes will improve the availability of funding".