Professional dog walkers banned from Helm Hill in Kendal after animals disturbed

• Video report by Fiona Marley Paterson

Professional dog walkers have been banned from one of the most popular dog-walking spots in Kendal.

It's after the group Friends of the Lake District, which owns part of Helm Hill, received complaints about large groups of dogs scaring nesting birds, cows and birds, as well as other walkers.

Individual dog walkers can still walk their dogs on the area owned by the group, but those who do it commercially must now remain on land not controlled by the Friends.

The land is separated by a stone wall running along the top of the Hill - that owned by the Friends is marked with small signs.

Douglas Chambers, from Friends of the Lake District, said: "One business said 'yes we used to go up there, we saw it was a potential problem, and we don't do it anymore.' That's great, that's a really responsible business owner.

"We've tolerated this for a while, especially through lockdown it was a really weird world and we just thought we'd let it go on, but the number of complaints we're having from other users are increasing.

"We just feel that it can't go on."

The Right to Roam allows people to use open countryside, whether the land is privately or publicly owned, but it does not give access for business purposes.

It's recommended that all dogs are kept on leads during nesting season.

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