THE banks of the River Hodder at Newton have been restored thanks to help from a local company and conservation trust.

The repair work is the third project carried out by the Ribble Catchment Conservation Trust using boulders donated by Castle Cement's Ribblesdale works at Clitheroe.

Trust chairman Philip Lord is delighted with the partnership. He said: "This project simply wouldn't have gone ahead without Castle's commitment to the cause.

"The cost of the amount of boulders we require for this type of project would be prohibitive.

"So their involvement is essential to the work we are carrying out."

The two previous projects were at Skirden Beck and Holden Beck.

Secretary of Bowland Game Fishing Association Chris Hosker, a member of the trust and a welder at Castle Cement, said: "The boulders supplied by Castle Cement are used to create artificial weirs, which help create improved habitats for fish and other wildlife by deepening and oxygenating water."

The Ribble Catchment Conservation Trust was formed in 1997 by a group of local residents who felt so strongly about the damage being caused to the Ribble that they took steps to intervene.

It took only 12 months for the Trust to achieve charitable status and, with funding from local sources and the EU, embarked on its mission.

Keith Hall is quarry manager at Castle Cement's Ribblesdale works. He said: "We have a fundamental interest in and commitment to the local environment and are delighted to help the Trust in the valuable work it is doing."