ABOUT 200 ramblers walked a stretch of riverside footpath in a protest against its proposed closure.

But the owners of the two-and-a-half mile stretch of the picturesque Ribble Way, near Sawley, claimed they have been made scapegoats in the 12-year row.

The wrangle began when landowners Colin and Patty Lord and nearby farmers objected to the footpath's designation as a bridleway.

Former environment secretary John Gummer ordered the deletion of the path, which runs between Sawley Lodge Drive and Steep Wood, from the definitive map.

Lancashire County Council argued the closure would mean long diversions away from the river and the loss of superb views. John Trevelyan, deputy director of the Ramblers Association, told the protesters that the county council had been ordered to close the bridleway against its wishes.

He praised the council and activists for fighting the closure, before offering cut-price membership of his organisation.

Mr and Mrs Lord said their lives had been made a misery by the battle and accused the ramblers of using it for propaganda.

Mrs Lord said the tourism promotion of the Ribble Way had turned "a little footpath into a motorway."

The fate of the troubled site now lands in the hands of a public inquiry to open in Clitheroe next week.

Top brass from the Ramblers Association are expected to attend, as well as angling group Yorkshire Fly Fishers, which supports the closure.

Mr Lord said: "The inquiry is what matters. We have merely adhered to the law and have been made scapegoats.

"We don't want unpleasantness and will be relieved when all this is over."

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