Footpaths across East Coast Main Line at Tallington, near Stamford, officially closed 10 years after Lincolnshire County Council order

Footpaths which cross a busy high-speed railway line have been officially closed - a decade after the order was made.

The closures relate to two non-definitive footpaths which cross the East Coast Main Line, near Tallington, and part of three nearby public footpaths which led to those routes.

Non-definitive footpaths are those not legally classified as a public right of way on a map where landowners have given permission.

The order was first made by Lincolnshire County Council more than 10 years ago, in January 2014, following a Network Rail safety review owing to faster trains using the line.

The county council order read: “It appears to the authority that it is expedient in the interests of the safety of members of the public using, or likely to use, the said footpaths that they should be stopped up.”

Trains now reach speeds of 125mph on the East Coast Main Line which links Edinburgh and London.

Ken Otter, of Tallington, said work to fence off access to the line was carried out soon after the initial order by Network Rail.

He said new footpaths had also been created at this time on either side of the line to divert walkers to a footbridge over the line at the A1175.

However, the order was only rubber-stamped last month by a Government inspector, appointed by the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, and officially came into effect on Wednesday (November 13).

A county council spokesman said: “The case was awaiting work to be done by Network Rail. Unfortunately there was an extended period of time before this was complete.”