A PUBLIC inquiry into the proposed closure of a stretch of scenic footpath in the Ribble Valley has opened amidst claims that the path has become a "motorway."

Former Environment Secretary John Gummer ordered the deletion of a two and-a-half mile stretch of the picturesque Ribble Way near Sawley from the definitive map.

Lancashire County Council has argued that closure will mean long diversions away from the river and the loss of superb views. The Ramblers' Association has vowed to fight the closure, and chief officers from the organisation are expected to give evidence.

Landowners near the troubled spot, between Sawley Lodge Drive and Steeps Wood, claim the promotion of the Ribble Way as a tourist attraction has turned the footpath into a motorway.

Inspector John de Winton opened the inquiry at the Ribble Valley council chamber before a packed gallery and described the 12-year row as extremely complicated. George Antony Alker, the county council's principal public rights of way officer, said he inspected the disputed route in 1986 and1997. He found clear evidence of its use as a footpath, but in his opinion it was impassable to horses.

Long-standing problems on the route threw some doubt on its status as a footpath and bridleway, but the doubt was not sufficient to prove that its inclusion on the definitive map was an error, he said.

Landowner Patricia Lord was today expected to outline the trouble and misery suffered by landowners as a result of the path's use by walkers, including death of animals, damage to hedgerows and theft. She will claim the route's designation as a right of way was a blunder.

The South Pennine Packhorse Trails Trust, which is expected to give evidence tomorrow, will accuse the Department of the Environment of ignoring important legal issues when ordering the path's deletion from the definitive map and will present historical evidence of the its use as a bridleway.

The inquiry is expected to continue until Friday.

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