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'Last-ditch' effort by volunteers to save footpath

Tom BurgessNorth East and Cumbria
Tees Rivers Trust A man in a protective visored helmet and waders is pounding wooden posts into the riverbed near a rapidly eroding riverbank. He has installed over 30 posts along the bank. Water is lapping round boots as he works. A row of trees can be seen over the top of the bank.Tees Rivers Trust
The bank has eroded rapidly over the last few months

Volunteers have been making a last-ditch attempt to halt rapid erosion before a footpath collapses.

The Tees Rivers Trust was contacted by North Yorkshire Council at the end of 2025 about halting damage being caused by the River Leven in Little Ayton.

It said if the erosion continued the footpath and access to a nearby bridge would be lost.

Ben Lamb, CEO of the Tees Rivers Trust, said: "When we went to look in the first week of January, it was obvious we only had a tiny window to try and secure it."

Volunteers have moved the force of the current away from the riverbank using a large timber flow deflector anchored into the bed with 1.5m (4.9ft) rebar pins.

They said that within hours, tons of gravel had shifted to the bottom of the bank.

The workers then installed wooden stakes and brash material, which they were allowed to harvest from a nearby wood by Forestry England, to make a barrier.

Tees Rivers Trust A row of wooden stakes have been installed at the base of an eroding riverbank. Behind the stakes piles of thin sticks have formed a barrier. Willow whips have been planted further back in the bank. The river water is brown.Tees Rivers Trust
The new defence "will give the bank some protection", volunteers said

Willow whips were planted behind the protective barrier in the hope that they will take root and provide extra protection for the bank.

Lamb said: "The trust has been working with farms and the communities of the Leven catchment since 2010 and there is still loads to do.

"We are really proud to be a part of the Living Leven Catchment Group and help do our bit for this cracking river whenever we can."

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