RIDING instructor Isabella Gage has blamed off-road vehicles for threatening her livelihood.

The vehicles have damaged Heddington Byway 17 and Bromham byway 49 known by locals as the Roman road.

Now Wiltshire County Council is considering banning motor vehicles, horse riders and cyclists from using the trails while repair work is carried out .

The ban would prevent MrsGage, who runs a riding school in Heddington, taking children into the countryside on a circuit of bridleways and byways she has used for years.

Mrs Gage fears the proposals would force her school and other horse-riding enthusiasts on to the roads.

She says this would increase the risk of accidents, which could persuade parents to take their children to other riding schools.

Mrs Gage and other horse riding enthusiasts in the village feel horses are being unjustly penalised for the damage caused to the byways by offroad vehicles.

They feel horses should not be included in any proposals to implement a traffic order on the byways.

Mrs Gage, said: "I thought everyone was trying to get horses off the road and on to bridleways, but this order would make it very difficult to get horses on to Roundway and Beacon Hill.

"Off-roaders cause most of the damage to the byways and motorbikes make deep narrow ruts, which make the track impossible for horses."

Smallholder Terry Butler, 55, from Heddington, said: "The letter from the county council said they're closing down the byway to conserve flaura and fauna, but that's a load of balderdash.

"The track has been used for hundreds of years as a coach road so how can horses riding up there have caused that damage?

"I have lived here almost all my life and it's only since demolition drivers in specially built off-road vehicles with over-sized tyres and winches started using the track that there has been any serious damage.

"They splash water, churn up the track, and deliberately get themselves stuck in the mud.

"They have destroyed the bridleways and byways in this village.

"Teams of horses pulling coaches would never have damaged the track to the extent off-roaders have in the last ten years.

"The county council should declassify the track as a byway but keep it as a bridleway if they really want to protect it.

"If they are going to do something about repairing the track then I don't mind them closing it down temporarily as long as they don't forget about it.

"But if they really want to preserve the road they need to get rid of the off- roaders.

"If the track is closed it means there are going to be a lot more horses on the road."

Wiltshire County Council said no date had been confirmed the proposed closure of the byways would only be temporary but repairing the tracks would be a lengthy job.

A spokesman said the council had consulted extensively with relevant groups who use the byways and parish and district councillors.

The Romans first used the track, which joined their encampment on Beacon Hill with the town of Verlucio, near Sandy lane.

It became the main road connecting Bath with London and was used for hundreds of years by coaches and horses.