Public rights of way applications backlog concerns campaigners

Thousands of miles of footpaths could be lost due to a massive backlog in local councils dealing with applications, campaigners say.

The government has set a deadline of 2031 for all rights of way in England and Wales to be added to an official map.

But data gathered by the BBC suggests nearly 8,000 requests to get public paths and bridleways added to the map have not been processed – and some date back to the 1980s.