NATIONAL Trust staff at the famous Hidcote Manor Gardens are due to meet with county and district council officers today (Thursday) to discuss the future of a blocked bridleway.

The meeting has been prompted by the intervention of a Mickleton resident, who spotted the path on a map and wondered why it was not signposted.

Wayne Pearson, of Pound Lane, Mickleton, said: "It started back in the summer of 1999 when I was walking with the family up at Hidcote. I noticed this path hadn't been signposted and telephoned Gloucestershire County Council to explain that it wasn't signposted and ask whether it still existed."

Mr Pearson said he had seen the bridleway, which has another running parallel to it 300 yards away, on copies of the definitive map used by the county council to identify all public rights of way in the county.

After a year of correspondence he finally had a letter back from the county admitting the bridleway was obstructed.

The path runs along the side of the National Trust's caf at Hidcote and into a farmyard behind the caf. It is blocked by an ivy-covered wall with a gateway.

Mark Parker, the county public rights of way officer, said: "We don't know, but we suspect it hasn't been used for many, many years."

The Trust still has to decide whether to apply to the Cotswold District Council for an order to divert the route and property manager Peter Blades said: "It is obviously not in the most convenient location, but there is some question as to its legal standing."

He said the trust was committed to open access to the countryside and was keen to resolve the matter.

l The Country Landowners Association is calling on farmers to make sure they do not obstruct paths and bridleways when ploughing after the cereals harvest. Regional director Geoffrey Hopton warned that farmers could face a £400 fine if they did so, but said highway authorities also had a duty to stop paths becoming too boggy or overgrown to be used.