MILEPOSTS, some of which date back more than 200 years, are being given a facelift in a £10,000 restoration project.

The traditional markers, painted white with black lettering, are a familiar sight on roadside verges in the Yorkshire Dales, but some were in urgent need of attention.

The Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority and North Yorkshire County Council's highways divisions in Richmond and Craven districts are funding the work. So far, 12 mileposts, which are made of cast iron, stone or a mixture of both, have been restored across the national park.

Some of them date from the turnpike roads of the 18th Century.

Mark Stephenson, the park authority's building conservation officer, said: "Some of them just needed painting, but one or two of the cast iron ones were in a really corroded state and were hard to see.

"Others had been physically damaged and needed new pieces welding on or had snapped below ground level and needed repairing.

"We still have another four or five that are on the 'at risk' register, so we will be looking at them soon."

Nine of the markers are listed nationally as buildings of architectural or historic merit.

Officers found that at least one of the mileposts had been moved and was pointing in the wrong direction.

Mr Stephenson said: "We found a problem with one between Askrigg and Hardraw, in Wensleydale, which at some point had been resited on the opposite side of the road, which meant the finger signs were pointing in the wrong directions.

"It may have been moved from the other side of the road so that car drivers could see the destinations and number of miles more easily.

"But it was so corroded that the fingers were not very visible and we think nobody appeared to have noticed until we arranged for it to be cleaned and painted."

He said that some markers stood on what were main roads, including a stone that is in the foyer of the authority's Bainbridge headquarters, which came from a route near Sedbergh and is awaiting restoration