PEDESTRIANS will be able to enjoy safer and more comfortable walks after a £1m investment in North Yorkshire's pavements and footways.

Two hundred kilometres of paths around the county will benefit from the work by North Yorkshire County Council.

The authority will use the £1m to undertake microsurfacing - preventative work designed to avoid the need for substantial repairs in the future.

The technique is a surface treatment made up of bitumen, stone and sand that is used to smooth over uneven surfaces.

"We have many miles of footways in our towns and villages," said Coun John Fort, executive member for highways.

"There is a continuing programme of maintenance work, as you would expect. But with this extra pot of money, we can identify problems almost before they happen, and initiate some quick remedial work, which will prevent more serious problems developing later.

"This scheme will allow us to microsurface some 200km of footways, and will result in a notable improvement in a very short timescale."