Island footpath battle stepped up

The island is a popular destination for visitors

Burgh Island in south Devon could become more accessible to visitors.

Bigbury Parish Council has applied to Devon County Council to make three footpaths on the popular landmark public rights of way.

Last year the owners of the island successfully appealed against the Right to Roam Act, allowing them to ban walkers from paths to the summit.

They said it was to protect the island from erosion. They have declined to comment on the new application.

Burgh Island is 200m off the coast of Devon and over the centuries has been inhabited by monks and used as a base by pilchard fishermen and smugglers.

The island is privately owned and famous for its Grade Two listed Art Deco hotel which was completed in the 1930s.

Past guests have included Noel Coward, Agatha Christie, Edward Duke of Windsor and Wallis Simpson, and Winston Churchill.