A cycle and footpath in Blacon was given a spruce up thanks to a UK charity that promotes non-motorised travel.

Local members of Sustrans and other volunteers regraded the Old Station site, cleaned the fencing, reseeded the embankment and planted four hawthorn trees.

Former Blacon resident Peter Williams said: “We cleaned a few of the fence panels in the late autumn last year when we were having a general tidy-up session on the site.

“It made such a difference that we decided we would try to get a larger volunteer group to complete the work this spring.”

Sustrans manages the Chester Millennium Greenway that runs through the railway themed Old Station site and other local cycle and footpaths.

Wirral group coordinator Janet Gregory said the group tries to arrange at least one tidy-up event per month in the local area.

Local members of Sustrans and other volunteers regraded the Old Station site
Local members of Sustrans and other volunteers regraded the Old Station site

“We depend on the input from local volunteers who play a major role in keeping the growing network of local cycle and footpaths in good order.

“Most users just assume that these routes are maintained by some unseen organisation, but this is just not the case.

“Our volunteers regularly give up their free time to cut back overgrown paths, to pick-up litter, to replace lost and damaged signs and carry out many other basic maintenance tasks.

“Their role is critical to our success.”

Sustrans is always looking for additional volunteers. Anyone interested in helping them can contact abigail.pound@sustrans.org.uk