CAMPAIGNERS are calling for a ban on off-road drivers from using the ancient Ridgeway. The Friends of the Ridgeway pressure group is calling on the four local authorities along the 85-mile route to introduce Traffic Regulation Orders (TROs) to ensure that the track is used by only walkers, cyclists and riders.

While West Berkshire and Oxfordshire councils have already agreed to a ban, talks are still on-going with Swindon and Wiltshire County Council.

Swindon Council representatives are due to meet Alun Michael, Minister for Rural Affairs on June 24 to discuss the issue.

Council spokesman, Gavin Calthrop, said the authority was open to the idea, but would be seeking advice at the meeting.

The Friends of the Ridgeway want to use TROs, normally used to create pedestrian areas, to ban motorcycles and off-road vehicles from the route which stretches from Avebury to Tring in Hertfordshire. They say vehicles are destorying the surface of the track.

South Swindon MP Julia Drown, who is also vice president of the Friends of the Ridgeway Pressure Group, said: "I am extremely supportive of plans to preserve the ancient path. There are serious concerns about the fact that the trail is used by people with 4x4 vehicles.

"I would like to see more investment in setting up alternative places for people who enjoy off road driving to use because I feel the different groups of users are incompatible.

"The Ridgeway Route is just as much a part of our heritage as our old buildings and we should be doing all we can to preserve them."

Ian Richie, chairman of the Friends of the Ridgeway Pressure Group, said: "As far as we are aware it is the oldest road in Britain, possibly Europe. It is thought to have been in existence for 6,000 years. Along its route are a number of historical sites, including Barbury Castle."

He said the Ridgeway was one of a dozen routes in the country to be given National Trail Status by the Countryside Agency which identifies it as a premier site for walking, riding and cycling.