HUNDREDS of angry residents in Ingol met with the Mayor this week to protest over the closure of a local footpath.

People living in and around Ingol Golf Course are furious that the club has put up steel fences and blocked off the path, between Tanterton Hall Road and Walker Lane, which they have been using for the past 20 years.

Campaigners are so infuriated by the golf club's actions that they presented a petition of 250 names and signatures to the Mayor of Preston, Councillor Joe Hood.

Les Whewell, of West Avenue, Fulwood, was one of six campaigners who turned up on Wednesday (August 9) to present the petition to Coun Hood.

He said: "The path was put there to give us access to green areas and it's a very popular place with local people.

"You could go up there any day of the week and find residents walking their dogs."

He added that people are now being forced to walk their dogs on another track which is surrounded by woods, where someone has already reported seeing a flasher. Manager of the golf course, Derek Smith, said: "We are totally within our rights to do what we have done and Preston Borough Council have confirmed that. It is all legally tied up at the moment."

A spokesperson for the council said they were currently dealing with the matter but the path in question had actually been closed by the Secretary of State for the Environment in 1978.

And spokesperson for Lancashire County Council, said: "We are aware of local residents' concerns over the closure of the path but it appears that there are no recorded footpaths on the golf course.

"It appears that there are a number of other routes which are likely to be permissive routes and if they are permissive routes then the golf club is within its rights to close them."