Work to clear the debris

A section of the Guild Wheel covered by debris from the Boxing Day floods has been cleared by cycling volunteers.

Members of the Ribble Valley Cycling club gathered on Saturday morning to begin shifting tonnes of branches and rubbish from the route.

Preston City Council had advised cyclists and walkers to avoid the area after the River Ribble burst its banks and covered the path close to the Brockholes Nature Reserve.

A path becomes clear through the debris

The Guild Wheel, a popular 21-mile circular route of the city, was rendered nearly impassable by what the river left behind.

Carl Mason, 53, one of the volunteers who worked to clear the path, said: “We started on Saturday morning and ended today in the early afternoon.

“The least we could do was keep it open given the work of Peter Ward and many of our members to keep the route free from development.

“It’s a jewel of Lancashire so we wanted to make sure it stayed open to ride.

“We still have twelve feet left to do which include a lot of large trees.”

To me, to you….

Lancaster Women’s Cycling Club also joined in with the clear up.

They brought along a chain saw to help clear large branches from the path.

The council during the Christmas period said it would be working to repair the route, but Carl, from Ribbleton, and his fellow cyclists didn’t want to wait for official help.