A BAND of 40 volunteers who brave all kinds of weather to get others walking to keep healthy have been singled out for praise.

The chairman of the Hambleton Strollers, Dave Goodwin, said without their enthusiasm, the group, now three years old, would not have attracted the support and membership it now enjoys.

"The Strollers could never have been so successful without the enthusiastic band of volunteer leaders who, come rain or shine, guide the walkers around the streets of our towns and villages," he said.

"They are the essential core of a scheme which provides hour-long led walks in all six Hambleton market towns. We cannot praise or thank them enough for their support and hard work."

Funding to keep the Strollers' co-ordinator, Marion Archer, in place has now been secured from Hambleton District Council, North Yorkshire County Council, the Hambleton and Richmondshire Primary Care Trust, Age Concern North Yorkshire and other groups.

"These first three years have flown past," said Ms Archer.

"The best thing about the group, for me, has not only been meeting a hundred or more new friends among the walkers, but feeling that we are providing a good innovative answer to a local need for exercise provision.

"But it is the leaders who are the real stars of the show - without them there would be no strolling."