RESIDENTS in Rossendale claim builders have stopped ramblers in their tracks after building a £300,000 housing development across a popular sculpture trail.

Walkers in Irwell Vale say they are being forced to climb over a wall to gain access to the footpath -- which is a well-used tourist spot.

Developers Briggs Homes, based in Bury, said the site was in complete agreement with plans submitted to and passed by Rossendale Borough Council.

But Walter Waide, footpath secretary for the Ramblers Association in Rossendale, branded the block "an outrage".

He added: "The trail encourages tourism into the valley which will not happen if people cannot use it.

"People getting off the train at Ramsbottom and Irwell Vale walk along the footpath so it is very well used by all kinds of people.

"Something needs to be done quickly because people should not be made to climb walls when they are walking along public footpaths." Irwell Vale Residents Association street representative Janice Johnson said visitors will not be able to walk along the beginnin g of the trail because of the huge trench.

She said: "It's a nightmare. The builders have put a massive trench in obstruction of the path so if anybody wants to go on the trail then they won't be able to get passed. Instead they will have to go over a wall which is ridiculous.

"This is a disgrace and it needs sorting out."

The 30-mile sculpture trail -- formerly known as the Irwell Valley Way -- includes 50 environmental art works and stretches from Salford to Rossendale.

Countryside Access Officer, John Dwyer, said the situation is not clear because there is a dispute as to where the path of the trail actually is.

He said: "It would appear the wall is blocking the path way and therefore if anybody wants to walk along there they would have to climb over it.

"The builder has said he will clear the path for the moment until we decide where the line of the path is so it can remain open."

Dennis Freedman, who lives off Bowker Street with his wife Pia and two teenage sons Max and Daniel, is disgusted with the way walkers have been treated.

He said: "This is not on. What about the disabled, people with prams and the elderly? What happens to them now a wall has been stuck in the way."

Irwell Sculpture Trail Projects Officer, Cathy Newbery said: "Not everybody is going to be able to use the trail, but I believe the work that is being done is for public safety. It should be about three months before the path is open for everybody again."

A spokesman for Briggs Homes said: "We can confirm the development site is in complete agreement with Rossendale Borough Council. Footpath number 390 has not been blocked by the development and we wouldn't have been given planning permission if was."