A HIGH-FLYING plan to restore Pendle Hill using giant stones reclaimed from redundant Lancashire mills takes to the skies next month.

Helicopters will drop hundreds of "causey" stones weighing up to half a ton each on the badly-eroded hill on a secret date.

The scheme has been funded by the Countryside Commission and Europe to the tune of tens of thousands of pounds.

Lancashire County Council countryside ranger David Oyston said vegetation and peat on the historic hill were being eroded by walkers and cyclists.

"The hill is now badly scarred and is horrible to walk on. The peat is also in imminent danger of collapsing into a nearby reservoir," he said. The "causey stone" scheme is based on an ancient road-building technique used by quarrymen. As they transported rock to its destination they would each drop a stone slab on the designated route and eventually the path would be built, the ranger explained.

Hundreds of stone slabs reclaimed from old mills in Lancashire will be dropped on the hill by helicopter and laid along a 729-metre stretch of the hill over a two to three-week period by special machines.

The scheme was devised by the Countryside Commission in consultation with local landowners and farmers.

"We are using ancient ideas to implement a conservation scheme that we hope will last for hundreds of years. It is the only way forward if we are to preserve one of East Lancashire's most important landmarks," said Mr Oyston.

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