FOOT-AND-MOUTH disease meant there was a special significance to the Ramblers Association's annual Footpath Day on Sunday.

The organisation used the event to celebrate the imminent lifting of restrictions which have kept much of the countryside off limits since March.

The disease has dealt a telling blow to both farming and tourism over the past seven months.

However, walkers point out it has also served to underline the importance of the nation's network of paths and bridle ways.

On Sunday, they were gathering at more than a dozen locations around the UK to help raise awareness of the association and its objectives - and Richmond in North Yorkshire was among them.

But, despite the region being among the most popular destinations for walking holidays, North Yorkshire County Council was once again under fire for its record on keeping paths clear.

On Friday, the authority's senior officers were pointing to additional grants which are to be spent on the maintenance of the footpath network once foot-and-mouth has loosened its grip on the countryside.

The authority is also consulting on tougher policies to deal with landowners responsible for obstructions on rights of way.

However, of the 50 ramblers who gathered in Richmond, most were still of the opinion that the council has some way to go before it can be proud of its record.

''We pay the same rates in Richmond as in Harrogate or York so I don't see why we cannot expect the same service from the county council,'' said Mike Sheehan, who owns the Alt-berg outdoor leisure shop on the town's Finkle Street.

''On the county council's own figures, as many as 30 per cent of North Yorkshire's footpaths were blocked even before the foot-and-mouth outbreak.

''Now the disease has highlighted the importance of the footpath network to rural economies, it seems there was already the potential for damage to the local economy.

He added: ''Footpaths are our heritage and have been there for centuries, allowing the public access to the countryside. The county council is supposed to be the custodian of those long-held rights and should be working on our behalf to protect them.''