VOLUNTEERS have presented Ceredigion County Council with a new trailer which will help the public rights of way team with their duties across the county.

Volunteers who help maintain public footpaths secured funding from Ramblers Cymru's Tools for Teams fund.

This fund provides support to groups of committed volunteers who’ve been working together with the council’s officers for over 20 years and are involved with a wide range of work including erecting bridges and gates, cutting back overgrowth, and general maintenance work on the county’s paths.

Len Kersley, who co-ordinates Aberystwyth Ramblers Footpath Working Party, said: “This timely gift is a very well-deserved tribute to the Ceredigion County Council rights of way team. For more than two decades the council rangers have worked very effectively using volunteers to help look after the fine network of paths that enables both locals and visitors to enjoy our scenic coast and countryside. Another trailer will help greatly in their task. Ceredigion sets a fine example of how council staff and volunteers can work together.”

Angela Charlton, director of Ramblers Cymru, highlighted the good work of the volunteers, saying: “During the run up to May 2017, when Ramblers Cymru held The Big Welsh Walk in Devil’s Bridge, our volunteers alongside Ceredigion County Council worked tirelessly maintaining footpaths, gates and way markers to ensure everyone walking the routes could do so in an accessible and enjoyable manner."

See this week’s south editions for the full story, in shops and online on Wednesday