TEENAGERS from Craven have been lending a helping hand to make things easier for people walking the Three Peaks in the Yorkshire Dales National Park.

The youngsters faced everything from sunshine to wind and rain as they shovelled tonnes of aggregate on the path going up Penyghent and then spread it over the worn surface.

As if that wasn’t enough, they came back next day to do a sponsored walk up Penyghent and raised £385.50 for the Three Peaks Project, which was set up by the Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority to maintain the heavily-used network of paths connecting the famous hills.

The weekend was organised by Kabeer Bostan, from Mosaic, a project that is raising awareness among 16 to 25-year-olds about the special qualities of the Yorkshire Dales through free training and taster days.

The group was part of the National Citizenship Service, a scheme open to all 16 and 17-year-olds in England that helps them develop skills for work and life, while taking on new challenges and meeting new friends.

And the teenagers came from local communities in the Dales area including Skipton, Wigglesworth, Burton in Lonsdale, Sutton-in-Craven, Silsden, Cross Hills and Haworth.

Bethany McInerny, one of the group members, said: “I think we worked well as a team, and everyone stuck together when we were going up Penyghent.”

Around 100,000 visitors a year visit the Three Peaks and the YDNPA works hard to try to help the fragile landscape cope.

Steve Hastie, the park’s Three Peaks area ranger, and Pennine Way ranger Colin Chick spent the day with the volunteers.

Steve said: “They worked really hard and most of them said they would like to return to the National Park to do more walking and conservation work – in fact, more than half of them said they would like to go up all three peaks.

“The footpath network does come in for some heavy punishment each year and we rely on the people who generously give their time and money or supply materials to help maintain the paths for everyone’s enjoyment.”