Yet sparks are flying in west Norfolk over just such a path, with villagers pitched against council officers and horseriding activists.

A fractious public inquiry was held on October 29 in an attempt to establish whether the trail, known as Smeeth Bank, should be registered as a restricted byway.

The 5k track runs along Smeeth Lode, a man-made waterway and drain stretching between the villages of St John's Fen End and Emneth.

It has already become a dramatic point of contention with concrete barriers, oil drums and even barbed wire erected at points along the way by landowners and farmers.

This follows complaints that motorbikes and other vehicles have been using the track illegally and that fly-tipping and vandalism is rife.

The 5km route runs along Smeeth Lode between St John's Fen End, passing through Marshland St James before reaching Smeeth Road to the north of Emneth (Image: Google)

The British Horse Society is fighting to get the path fully reopened, claiming there is a large body of evidence, such as historic maps, showing it has been used as a public right of way since the 1800s.

But villagers have warned that reinstating it could lead to a crime wave........

© Eastern Daily Press