Boost for beauty spot

Countryside volunteers are desperately needed

The South Hams is to get £750,000 to protect the local landscape and encourage more people to become countryside volunteers.

The money has come from the Heritage Lottery Fund and is the biggest award of its kind in Devon.

The scheme is being led by South Hams District Council and with European funding and partner organisations, the total funding is now more than £1.3m.

Ken Carter, coast and countryside manager at South Hams District Council, said: "We have been working for some time to get this money and hopefully it will bring a lot of benefits for people who live and visit here."

There will be three main areas:

• Landscape heritage such as green lanes, and hedges

• Improving access to countryside for walkers and disabled. Repairing erosion and links between paths

• Getting local people involved with groups such as the British Trust for Conservation Volunteers.

The scheme gets under way in September when information will be sent out across the area explaining how people can get involved.