Wigan fence dispute clarification

The article suggested the path is a bridleway whereas in fact it is a cut-through to a bridleway and crosses private land owned by resident Gareth Fairhurst who says he has put the fence up to prevent the spread of Japanese knotweed and that failure to do so could land him with a substantial fine if it spreads and devalues neighbouring properties.

It was also stated in the article that not being able to use the cut-through - which some locals are campaigning to be officially made a public right of way - means walkers have to take a 15-minute detour.

But the detour in fact takes a fraction of that time and neither does it involve going up any hills, as stated.

This has been demonstrated by a video showing a walk from one end of the path to the other via the streets which took only three minutes to complete.

Wigan Today is happy to clarify these details and apologises for any upset caused.