COUNTY rights of way staff have won praise for clearing footpath obstructions on some of the routes for this week's Herefordshire Walking Festival.

Now the Hereford Group of the Ramblers Association is urging the county council paths team to keep up the momentum.

The team needs to tackle wider problems on the 2,100-mile Herefordshire paths and bridleways network, said ramblers' footpath secretary John Wride.

Mr Wride, who is taking photographs of path obstructions, sent the Hereford Times an example. His picture shows a county council stile at Bolstone blocked by a metal hayrack. A notice has been pinned to the stile.

It disclaims all knowledge of a right of way, says Mr Wride.

He added: "The spot is close to an establishment which caters for a large number of visitors to our county - they come by the coach load. The public rights of way department of the council must be urged to carry out it's statutory duty to maintain and keep open all footpaths, thus encouraging visitors to come to enjoy our tranquil countryside."

Mr Wride said he had also written to praise rights of way staff. He led a festival walk last Sunday - a 10 mile trek in the Peterchurch area - and was impressed to find a number of new stiles and cleared paths, including a path carved through the ridges of a potato field.

"They did an excellent job," he added.

l County rights of way chief Rob Hemblade said a lot of work was done on the problem path at Bolstone in the past. "We are aware of a long-standing problem there and we are working with (council) legal services to resolve it," he said. Mr Hemblade urged walkers to report path problems at an early stage before group walks were planned and before crops reached maturity.