Disputes veteran loses footpath battle

Over the years Colin Seymour has appeared at dozens of public inquiries to champion public access to bridleways, footpaths and highways.

The former teacher, who is 76 and lives in Bridlington, has become known for his painstaking historical research and ability to unearth ancient documents to prove his case, once quoting from a Latin document dated 1472 which forced a council to resurface an unmade track.

But his most recent case, involving claimed rights of way over land at the former Methley Junction Colliery at Methley, near Leeds, has ended in defeat.

A Government planning inspector has ruled that the evidence presented to him was "insufficient" to prove that rights of way existed. The burden of proof lies with those who claim that rights of way have come into existence through long use.

Mr Seymour had argued that the footpaths had been in use for hundreds of years.

He argued that a ferry took passengers across the river Calder until the 1930s and that rights of way existed to allow people to access the ferry.

Planning inspector Alan Beckett said he placed "little weight" on Mr Seymour's submissions regarding the ferry, adding: "There is no credible evidence to support Mr Seymour's submission that the ferry at Fairies Hill was a public ferry of ancient origin"

Landowner Kenneth Howley said the inspector's ruling was a victory for common sense over those who had an "obsession" with Methley Junction land. "There is no footpath".

But Mr Seymour said he would fight on: "This case is very important to me."