A KIRKLEES councillor is urging people to continue to walk along public rights of way.

Clr Martyn Bolt, chairman of the Mirfield area committee, stressed the importance of protecting footpaths.

"We need to maintain our rights of way network and to enhance it where possible, so that the amenity is there for future generations," he said.

Clr Bolt's comments were prompted after complaints that a local firm had closed off a pathway as part of its expansion plans.

Clr Bolt said the pathway had never been a legal right of way, but people had used the route unhindered for many years.

He said Kirklees Council had begun to collect information from users, whose evidence could lead to the route being added to the legal map.