A YOUNG disabled man from Burnsall is celebrating the completion of a project enabling less able people to use the Dales Way footpath.

The improvements have been made to one of the busiest sections of the Dales Way long distance footpath, which runs alongside the River Wharfe.

The scheme was instigated as a direct result of findings of wheelchair user Phil Stockdale, 30, of The Green.

He was unable to get to the river in his home village and decided to undertake a college research project on footpaths in his area.

Having carried out an assessment, together with background research, he then approached the Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority with his findings and detailed suggestions as to which paths might be upgraded.

Phil said: "The path was in a real state before and that's why I got this project going. Now it's in a very good condition. It's good enough for wheelchairs, prams, old people, for everybody. It's good to see it's been done after two years of trying."

In the summer of 1998, the Yorkshire Dales Millennium Trust helped to fund the first part of the scheme to upgrade a one kilometre length of the Dales Way running north through the centre of the village.

The total cost of the project was £45,000 and was also partly funded by the Environment Agency and the Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority.

Phil Richards, the national park authority's area ranger, and Isobel Hall, community environment officer for the Yorkshire Dales Millennium Trust, worked with the local community and also members of the Skipton and Craven Action for Disability (SCAD) to open up the route to less able users.

Before the work, the path was completely inaccessible to wheelchairs or pushchairs due to the uneven surface of the ground and problems caused by flooding and erosion.

Phil Richards, an area manager with the Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority, said: "The ideas and inspiration of Phil Stockdale have brought together the community, members of the local disabled group and funding bodies to realise a landmark project giving access to all, on one of the busiest and most treasured parts of the River Wharfe in Burnsall.

"A range of users can now enjoy this stretch of the Dales Way and at the same time learn about its history through the imaginative interpretative display situated on the route."

An interpretation board has also been erected at the site, modelled on a selection of Burnsall residents photographed by SCAD members. These included a mother with the youngest resident in the village and a man who was probably the oldest.

Extra funding was made available to offer some training sessions in portrait photography to members of SCAD and then the use of a local artist James Innerdale to transform the images onto the interpretation board.

A special exhibition of the photographs and artwork will be displayed at the village hall in Burnsall on Tuesday July 11. This will include the SCAD portraits and Mr Innerdale's drawings in the village hall.