World heritage status of Lake District is being 'violated', protestors say

Locals say motor traffic in national park threatens world heritage status

A patch of land in the Lake District once owned by Beatrix Potter and described by Alfred Wainwright as "the loveliest in Lakeland" is being ruined by 4x4 drivers who are threatening the world heritage site status of the national park, according to campaigners.

They say cars and motorbikes have devastated farm tracks, churning up soil and exposing the bedrock beneath, leaving them impassable to farm traffic.