RECREATIONAL motor vehicles are to be banned from using the Ridgeway national trail from next winter.

Alun Michael, the Minister For Rural Affairs, attended the annual meeting of The Friends Of The Ridgeway on Sunday when he unveiled details of a seasonal ban.

The move follows the recent consultation paper on the use of motor vehicles on countryside rights of way, in which the Government recommended better enforcement of current legislation to curb irresponsible and illegal use of motorbikes and 4x4s on green lanes.

The paper also seeks to close the argument that historic use of such routes by horse-drawn vehicles gives rise to a current and future right of use by motor vehicles.

Seasonal Traffic Regulation Orders will be introduced on the Ridgeway from October banning motor vehicles from using vulnerable sections of the path every winter.

All six local councils along the route have agreed to implement the ban in order to prevent any further damage by off road motorbikes, quad bikes and 4x4s.

The 85-mile Ridgeway starts at Avebury, passes Barbury Castle, Ogbourne St George, Liddington Hill and heads off towards Oxfordshire, the Chiltern Hills and finishes at Ivinghoe Beacon, in Buckinghamshire.

Alun Michael said: "I am delighted that the Ridgeway Management Group, representing the highway authority along the trail, has agreed to apply seasonal Traffic Regulation Orders on many sections of the Ridgeway.

"This means that for all the winter months, when the surface of the trail is vulnerable in places to damage from motorised vehicles, there will be a complete ban on use by non-essential vehicles.

"I am sure that this will help to make the difference we all want to see in order to protect the Ridgeway for all users."

Ian Ritchie, the chairman of the Friends Of The Ridgeway said: "A voluntary code of respect has been in operation on the Ridgeway for ten years but has plainly not been working.

"This ban is excellent news for all walkers, horse riders and cyclists who wish to enjoy the Ridgeway in peace, free from the ruts and mud that make the trail hazardous and unpleasant.

"Although a seasonal ban falls short of the total ban that we have been advocating, it is a very big step in the right direction."

The Ridgeway is the oldest known path in Britain and The Friends Of the Ridgeway has been asking for a total ban on motor vehicles on the trail since 1983.

RECREATIONAL motor vehicles are to be banned from using the Ridgeway national trail from next winter.

Alun Michael, the Minister For Rural Affairs, attended the annual meeting of The Friends Of The Ridgeway on Sunday when he unveiled details of a seasonal ban.

The move follows the recent consultation paper on the use of motor vehicles on countryside rights of way, in which the Government recommended better enforcement of current legislation to curb irresponsible and illegal use of motorbikes and 4x4s on green lanes.

The paper also seeks to close the argument that historic use of such routes by horse-drawn vehicles gives rise to a current and future right of use by motor vehicles.

Seasonal Traffic Regulation Orders will be introduced on the Ridgeway from October banning motor vehicles from using vulnerable sections of the path every winter.

All six local councils along the route have agreed to implement the ban in order to prevent any further damage by off road motorbikes, quad bikes and 4x4s.

The 85-mile Ridgeway starts at Avebury, passes Barbury Castle, Ogbourne St George, Liddington Hill and heads off towards Oxfordshire, the Chiltern Hills and finishes at Ivinghoe Beacon, in Buckinghamshire.

Alun Michael said: "I am delighted that the Ridgeway Management Group, representing the highway authority along the trail, has agreed to apply seasonal Traffic Regulation Orders on many sections of the Ridgeway.

"This means that for all the winter months, when the surface of the trail is vulnerable in places to damage from motorised vehicles, there will be a complete ban on use by non-essential vehicles.

"I am sure that this will help to make the difference we all want to see in order to protect the Ridgeway for all users."

Ian Ritchie, the chairman of the Friends Of The Ridgeway said: "A voluntary code of respect has been in operation on the Ridgeway for ten years but has plainly not been working.

"This ban is excellent news for all walkers, horse riders and cyclists who wish to enjoy the Ridgeway in peace, free from the ruts and mud that make the trail hazardous and unpleasant.

"Although a seasonal ban falls short of the total ban that we have been advocating, it is a very big step in the right direction."

The Ridgeway is the oldest known path in Britain and The Friends Of the Ridgeway has been asking for a total ban on motor vehicles on the trail since 1983.

Catherine Turnbull