A MOORLAND gardener says he is making an impact in a pioneering community job.

Simon Taylor is the first community caretaker in the upper Esk Valley and his appointment has seen a dream come true for people living in three villages in the area.

Now five weeks into the job, Mr Taylor says he has had a positive reaction to his work from residents and visitors.

He says he can already see a difference in where his "patch" ends and a community without a caretaker begins.

As he worked around Westerdale, Mr Taylor said: "We are all still finding our feet at the moment.

"This something new both for me and the communities involved."

Mr Taylor runs his own garden maintenance business as well as handling bowling green and footpath work for the national park authority.

"The caretaker's job fits in quite well with my other work," he said. "I am able to keep an eye on things as I go about my jobs."

The job covering Castleton, Westerdale and Commondale was advertised and Mr Taylor thought it would be ideal.

He now says he will probably have to take on some help and so another job could be created.

He does an early round before breakfast, picking up litter, sweeping and keeping an eye out for problems.

He says an example of this was when a sleeper fell from the railway line on to the road and he rang Railtrack to get it moved.

"That is the sort of thing which crops up all the time," said Mr Taylor, who lives in Westerdale and does 15 hours a week on his new job.

"I have had a positive reaction from people," he said. "No complaints at all.

"When I go to Danby I can see where my area stops and the Danby patch - which does not have a caretaker - starts. I would say I am making an impact.

"The place was becoming more untidy, especially with litter."

The appointment of a caretaker has been made possible due to the Farm and Rural Community Scheme and the hard work and determination of groups in the area.

Mr Taylor's duties include litter collection, thistle-cutting, maintaining village features, snow clearance and generally making sure the villages of Castleton, Commondale and Westerdale are well looked after.

The community scheme is an experimental project funded by the North York Moors National Park Authority, the Countryside Agency, Yorkshire Forward and the European Union.

The project is piloting new approaches to supporting farming and rural communities in the North York Moors and other upland areas.

The scheme's project officer, Fraser Hugill, said: "I am delighted we have succeeded in getting this off the ground."

Linda Grout, from Castleton community group and Danby Group Parish Council, said having a caretaker had been a dream in the area for many years.

"It is now up to the people of Castleton, Commondale and Westerdale to make it a success.