TOWNSFOLK are being urged to help save a well-used footpath after developers threatened its existence when they erected a fence, preventing people from using it.

Residents living close to the Oakhalls estate in Bromsgrove are searching for people who have walked the path regularly in the past because if they can prove it has been regularly used for a number of years then they will have a chance of saving it.

The entrance to the path, which has been used for at least 35 years, is at the rear of Finstall First School and runs between open grassland and the Oakhalls estate. The stile that used to be there, before the fence, was under an old willow tree.

Campaigner Marilyn Hartwell, of Hedges Way, Harwood Park, has used the path for nearly 20 years.

She said: "To save the footpath we need the public's help, the more signatures we get the stronger our case will be.

"Once we have collected as many signatures as possible, we can present them to Worcestershire County Council, who will then approach the developers for us."

Developers JJ Gallagher, who erected the fence, said it was done following lengthy consultations between planners and the Rambler's Association.

A company spokesman added: "The whole thing has been a very lengthy and complicated process, where people had plenty of opportunity to put their views forward."

If you have used the footpath send your name, address, telephone number, the times you have used it and your signature to Mrs Hartwell, 18 Hedges Way, The Willows, Bromsgrove, B60 2DN.