Pathway to Devon
Posted: Wed Feb 22, 2012 8:49 pm
When a council spent £320,000 on a cycle path, it seemed like a large sum to take from the public purse.
And taxpayers in Axminster were even more appalled when they learned the route includes a tunnel that is too low to ride through.
The pricey 1km-long path built by the bungling authority passes under a main road and runs alongside the River Yarty in Devon.
But one tunnel section is only 5ft 9ins tall - the height of the average British man.
The perilous path has also been found to flood with a slimy mixture of mud, straw and slurry during heavy rainfall.
A blue warning sign has now been installed on the tunnel between Axminster and the village of Kilmington, reading: 'Low bridge ahead. Cyclists dismount'.
Town councillor Paul Hayward said he was 'staggered' to learn that the route cost £320,000 after making a freedom of information request.
'This is money thrown down the drain on some novelty project - it is not a practical route,' he added.
'You have to walk through two or three inches of mud.
'They say if it floods to use the alternative route - if there is an alternative route, why did they have to build this in the first place?
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article ... z1n96R0nTd
